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Google Code Jam 2003 Announced
An anonymous reader says "O'Reilly Developer News is reporting details of the newest Google programming contest, Google Code Jam 2003. Prizes range from t-shirts to ten grand and you can use any programming language you want to solve the increasingly challenging problems."
Update by J : ... as long as it's Java, C++, C# or VB.NET.
The submitter writes ".. you can use any programming language you want" but Google's page says "Use Java, C++, C# or VB.NET. Pick any of these programming languages to code your solutions. All are acceptable and none is given an advantage."
Unless I'm parsing this wrong, it sounds like one can't use any language, only 1 of the 4 listed. (It's also odd that C isn't there but some proprietary languages are)
Trolling is a art,
you can use any programming language you want to solve the increasingly challenging problems
:)
Like how to stop blogs from screwing with google's results?
Finally, a chance for me to show what COBOL can really do!
I am NOT a man!
I am a free number!
If I write C code that compiles under C++ would that be considerd "C++" (for the purpose of said competition . While I can program C++ if its a timed competition C would be faster for me) .
Here's what Google values, from their Job Opportunities page:What intrigues me personally is that this contest takes place in an online collaborative environment. Does this mean that Google is considering opening up to remote working -- as in, I can live in Dallas and "work" in the Googleplex? As much as I'd love to work at a place like Google, there's no way I'm moving to Cali-fall-into-the-ocean-fornia.
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
Give away your software and ideas for free (or in this case a t-shirt, that's close enough).. and then possibly get a reward afterwards? Sounds a lot like soviet communism with it's quality reward program.
The Google Code Jam is being conducted in conjunction with TopCoder, the coolest, best implemented regular online coding contest. You can go there and download the Arena applet to get an idea of the format of the contest and to get ready by practicing with sample problems. In fact, that's highly recommended since the applet accommodates a very specific kind of contest.
Also, it would be wise to participate in a few live TopCoder rounds, which are held weekly, if you have any hope of being competitive.
Chr0m0Dr0m!C
run a competition and let others do the coding for you.
oh and don't forget to through in a t-shirt or to for all the hard work
What you get is a page full of Perl Jam.
Massive by Design
But what are the problems they want solved? It sounds like they want h0xerz/crackers, not real problem solvers/programmers.
A typical Google sample problem: Suppose there are X lockers in the hallway, and someone is opening every Nth locker where n is a prime number. Write a program to parse all the html files on the internet and return something useful. :)
stuff |
Google is looking for engineers with the programming skill to rewrite the world's information infrastructure.
Yeah, right. As somebody who manages a number of programmers, I know that the kinds of people who win competitions like this (such as topcoder) simply won't make very good employees. The best programmers I work with are team players who know how to communicate, document and manage working relationships. The high-intensity macho time-critical programming that these competitions fosters is usually counterproductive in a business environment.
- W G
Hrm...
Sounds like to win any money you have to travel, so keep that in mind when you sign up.
"The top 25 performers in Round 2 will be invited to compete for cash prizes in the Championship Round onsite at the Googleplex (Mountain View, CA) on November 14th."
They are floating the bill though, according to the terms
" Google will provide travel accommodations for each finalist to attend the Championship Round. In addition, Google will provide overnight accommodations and all travel arrangements to and from the airport, as well as to and from Google's headquarters. All other expenses are the responsibility of the contestant. "
Friday, October 17 8:00 AM
Monday, October 20 8:00 AM
Friday, November 14 4:00 PM
Who with a job could participate?
OddManIn: A Game of guns and game theory.
Links without the referrer tags
In related news, the American Art Foundry(*) has announced an open art contest. Artists are free to use whatever medium they choose, as long as it's oil on canvas.
* Not a real organization
> http://www.amazon.com/exe .../inertishomepa-20
Good luck to your Amazon Associates account too.
Which of you moderators modded that ad up as Informative??
As stated in the conditions: (http://www.topcoder.com/pl/?&module=Static&d1=goo gle&d2=google_rules_overview)
Participants who do not meet the citizenship requirements to win prize money are still eligible to compete. However these individuals will be required to donate any cash prizes to charity. Participants will choose a charity to receive their winnings from the TopCoder approved list of charities. A prize-winning participant may request a new charity be added to the list, however it shall remain in Google's sole discretion to add that charity after reviewing the proposed charity's credentials.
It sucks to be belgian :( while UK and irish residents may enter, hasn't anybody heard of Europe over there ?
I wonder what the topcoder approved charity list looks like.
I don't know if they fixed it or not. But I hated it when I beta tested it a while ago. I found it had trouble compiling anything even a hello world application. The fact that you must get use to using TopCoder is a reason not to use it. Besides I am against programming competitions because they encourage speed in programing not not a good planned layout of thought. The primary reason why most of the code out their is crappie is because their is lack of design and everyone trying to write this super optimized code. So once their is a problem the code is so optimized that it cannot be fixed. But if you win Congrads, if not dont take it seriously you could still be the better programmer.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
This must be some new meaning of the word details with which I an unfamiliar. The www.topcoder.com page certainly contains details in the normal sense. The O'Reilly page contains what I would call a brief summary. Interesting concept though.
When I was in school, one sick $#%@#$$ did a programming problem set in Postscript. You had to send his code to the printer to execute it. :)
the way to win a TopCoder competition is to not only be analytical enough to figure out the solution but also to able to type quickly and accurately as well as to take shortcuts like using short variable names. I certainly wouldn't want any 'TopCode' in a production system.
:)
I was disappointed with my experience in the TopCoder competition at Java One because even on day three, when I was comfortable with the TopCoder IDE, knew that speed was king, and I knew the solution right away I was still beaten out by over two minutes. I mean, I knew the solution, typed it in, compiled first time, ran a test case, passed, and submitted the solution. Damn near perfect in my mind but I was very low man on the totem pole time-wise (~4min vs ~2min).
I guess learning to touch type by MUDing just doesn't cut it
flee
flee
flee
Lest we forget, TopCoder is powering this contest. Here's an e-mail I received describing everything in more detail:
-----------
Google is pleased to announce the Google Code Jam 2003 competition, powered by TopCoder. Compete against the top programmers in the world for a share of $25,000 in cash and enormous bragging rights. Google is growing and actively seeking top engineering talent to help solve some mind-bending programming challenges on a global scale.
The competition will consist of a two-week registration period from October 1st to the 15th. All TopCoder members who intend to compete in this competition must register for the event through a new registration path that has been set up exclusively for the tournament.
All registrants must then participate in the Qualification Round. The Qualification Round will be open from Friday, October 17th at 8:00 AM EDT to Monday, October 20th at 8:00 AM EDT. During this 72-hour period, a competitor must complete one randomly generated problem set. All competitors will be given a score for their performance on that one problem set.
The top 500 participants from the Qualification Round will advance to the first online round to be held at 9:00 PM EDT on October 24th. All competitors in this round will be sent a t-shirt commemorating the Google Code Jam 2003. The top 250 scorers from Round 1 will advance to Round 2, which will be held at 9:00 PM EST on October 27th.
The top 25 scorers in Round 2 will win an all expense paid trip to the Googleplex (Google's corporate headquarters) in Mountain View, CA. Here, they will compete in-person in the Championship Round for their share of $25,000 on Friday, November 14th at 4:00 PM EST (1:00 PM PST).
The grand-prize winner will be awarded $10,000. Second, third and fourth place winners will be awarded $5,000, $3,500 and $1,250, respectively. The remaining finalists in the Championship Round will each receive $250. In order to receive a cash prize, a competitor must be at least eighteen years of age and a lawful permanent resident of one of the nine countries approved for cash prizes. All other cash prize winners will choose a charity to receive their prize.
Google's engineering organization is pleased to sponsor this contest and is looking forward to meeting the top coders. Participating in this contest propels you to the front of the line for consideration for open positions in our engineering group. You are encouraged to submit your resume for immediate consideration for open positions at any time during this competition. Please visit http://www.topcoder.com/googlecodejam for more information. And remember to register starting on October 1st!
Best of luck to you in the Arena!
The Google Team
Glad to see the real identity of the spammer who has been anonimously posting links to amazon products with himself (inertishomepa-20) as referrer.
....
Guess you forgot to check the "Post Anonymously" check box this time. Anyway, this is a spammer people, dont click those links.
On a different note I see you are also the owner of the infamous martin-studio website that has been placing ads on the mirrors for slashdotted stories
Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow.
Google Temptation Island!
---- "If we have to go on with these damned quantum jumps, then I'm sorry that I ever got involved" - Erwin Schrodinger
Programming with a time limit is not a great indication of how likely someone is to writes= robust, durable, re-usable code.
My best code usually results from refactoring, and is made up of several small classes made up of small functions, where each function does one thing and does it well, and each class has a well-defined role, usually in collaboration with other classes.
This is the result of crafting and thinking, not a result of typing as fast as I can, trying for a quick and dirty solution to one specific problem.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
Yeah, the limit on programming languages reminds me of The Jerk. No, not my grandfather, but the Steve Martin movie. Specifically, a scene where he is working at a carnival stand:
Carnival Goer:
What'd I win?
Navin:
Uh, anything in this general area right in here. Anything below the stereo and on this side of the bicentennial glasses. Anything between the ashtrays and the thimble. Anything in this
three inches right in here in this area. That includes the Chiclets, but not the erasers.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
I donno, maybe the problems will be more 'google specific' but it sounds like a regular TopCoder compo. I'm glad TC is able to find some sponsors, but this isn't really all that exciting.
:P. They accidentally sent me two checks though.
:).
:)
Anyone remember when TopCoder gave out TONS of money? They would give out cash to 3/8th of the participants like 3x as week. It rocked. And it was distributed to each 'room' so you only had to compete against 8 other people (so in order to get cash you only needed to beat 5 people). Despite this, I only placed once
The craziest thing was that they started this after the dot-com crash, so everyone thought they were basically insane, but we were happy to take free money
Anyway I might play this time around. Of course, you'll need to do better then n-249, rather then 3 but it still might be fun
TC used to allow C++ though, I wonder why they gave up on that.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
you also get a mask, to protect your anonymity ;)
Just kidding!
It's quiet easy to write C code that does not compile on C++ compilers(malloc() casts anyone??? etc.), so the answer to this question is more likely to be:
"Yes, you may write C code and it'll be accepted as long as it compiles on our compiler package.".
1. No sig. 2. ???? 3. Profit!!!
...Google for the answer!
I wonder if that violates the spirit of the competition?
There are many things that make a coder good. Insightful and elegant design are one. But being able to quickly bang out a solution for a self-contained problem quick and dirty style is just as sure a sign of skill, to me at least.
Inverted Index
Page Rank
Suffix Array
They've even put some individual researchers' names in for sponsored links:
Udi Manber
Gene Myers
It's interesting, as they seem to have some things but not others. The suffix array stuff is useful for full-text indexing, which they may be interested in, but they don't flag searches on more recent topics in the field.
---- "If we have to go on with these damned quantum jumps, then I'm sorry that I ever got involved" - Erwin Schrodinger
Anyhow, all bull$hit aside concerning Lisp, Python, Haskell, Modula-2, Ada, COBOL, ALGOL, FORTRAN, and whatever other nonesense I saw, I'd like to see some of the socially challenged here at /. put their money where their hacking chops are (assuming that their mom's will let them stay up past their bedtime)
It would be amusing to see those who would engage in mindless holy wars put their programming chops to the test, and earn some legitimate bragging rights
I agree with a previous poster that it would be useful to have more contests like this - Here is my programming assignment for you:
Using a computer language of your choice, write a program that will factor a very large integer of arbitrary precision (1024+ digits) in as little time as possible - Points awarded on speed of execution
8^)
But it can be.
I've adopted the habit to always search for a rapid solution of a problem and then once I have a functional code I start to optimize,build, rebuild and defragment it in smaller modules.
I Have a friend who at the same time is uncapable of coding anything at all before writing down some project design notes on paper.
You'll be surprised how often at the end we arrive at the same solution(at least we're surprised;o))).
So,back on your point, fast coding != robust, durable, re-usable code, but I don't really see a way to put a note on those for a competition purposes or am I wrong?????
1. No sig. 2. ???? 3. Profit!!!
What are you talking about? That would be the event of the....century! Here goes Mr. X, finishing out what looks to be line 100,000, and oh my, what's this? HE'S GOING TO COMPILE! Error, error error, oh the humanity, let's take a look at how Mr. Z is doing. Mr Z appears to have written only 100 lines, but it does compile, and What's this?!?!? It's fully functional! Mr. Z, here's your prize, one XXXL T-shirt. Tune in next week for Linus vs. Bill on the Professional Coder Network. Will be forced to where a M$ sucks shirt to work on Monday? Only one way to find out!
--fetch daddy's blue fright wig, i must be handsome when i release my rage