EPTGrand Prize: $10,000
I'm going to participate in Google's annual programming contest this year. I was wondering if any fellow TLers planned on entering.
I've dabbled with practice problems from previous contests; they don't seem too bad. I usually don't enter these things because there's soooo many awesome coders out there. My inner-geek is extremely intimidated, I suppose. But not this year, I'm going for it!
You software peeps should join, too. Here's some info:
Registration Deadline: July 17
About Code Jam
Do you enjoy solving tough problems and grappling with technical challenges? Then enter Google Code Jam!
Google Code Jam is a coding competition in which professional and student programmers are asked to solve complex algorithmic challenges in a limited amount of time. The contest is all-inclusive: Google Code Jam lets you program in the coding language and development environment of your choice.
Google Code Jam begins in July and continues in August, when you will compete in online rounds against contestants from around the world. The Top 500 participants will advance to onsite competitions at a local Google office to compete against those in their region (Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and the Americas). The Top 100 will participate in the final round at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California on Friday, November 14.
Don't be left out! Make sure to register between June 17 and July 17, and show your coding creativity in Google Code Jam.
How to Win
Point Structure
Each problem has set point values for its small and large input/output sets. When you solve a set correctly, you get the number of points indicated. The contestant with the highest score wins.
Penalty Time and Ties
If there is a tie in points, the contestant with the lowest penalty time wins.
Penalty Time = Total submission time of the last input you correctly solve (time is measured from start of contest) + four minutes for each incorrect small submission (only for problems you eventually solve)
For example, if you have made the following submissions:
[17m10s] wrong submission for A-small
[17m35s] wrong submission for A-small
[18m15s] correct submission for A-small (10 points)
[29m30s] wrong submission for B-small
[30m59s] correct submission for C-small (30 points)
[45m11s] correct submission for A-large (15 points)
then your score will be 55, with 53m11s of penalty points (45m 11s + 2*4m)
I was thinking this blog could serve as discussion for some of the practice problems. I haven't looked at them yet, but will post back here when I do.
Feel free to post anything related to Code Jam here.
