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Google Code Jam Registration Opens Today

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the best-and-brightest dept.

Bamfarooni writes "Registration for Google Code Jam 2006 opens today. The event consists of 3 online rounds (September 5-6, September 14 and September 19,) in which participants compete to solve three coding problems faster and more accurately than their competitors. If you've got what it takes, and more of it than anyone else, then you can take home up to $10k for your code-fu."

21 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Recruiting by Heikell · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is Google's way of recruiting the debuggers to sort out the problems with their programs.

  2. A *whole* $10k? by Colin+Smith · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hmm, the difference between cost and value again. Beads for the natives mate...

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    Deleted
    1. Re:A *whole* $10k? by Rakishi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      College students have time to burn and the people who enter probably consider this to be fun (personally I find interesting problems to be fun). Some people choose to value their life by how much they enjoy it and not by how much money they can make. Others may view this as a good way of making connections, a name for oneself or to impress potential future employers.

      If I was a true coder and didn't already have plans for the dates in question I would strongly consider it. Seems like a fun and interesting thing to do.

      You are right in some ways, note that many of the winners were from the former USSR where the standard of living is lower, unemployment higher (especially among the youth) but education is still strong. To them this is probably both much more fun and provides a better payoff (including a US work visa potentially) than the alternatives.

    2. Re:A *whole* $10k? by Bamfarooni · · Score: 2, Insightful

      $10k for 3 hours of work? If you can beat that, I sure would like to know about it.

    3. Re:A *whole* $10k? by Rakishi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The potential for $10k given 3 hours of work, just like the lottery is the potential for $x million given $1 and 30 seconds of work. Also without preparing (a lot possibly) before hand the chances of getting that are fairly slim.

  3. Ownership by Ellidi+T · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Does Google claim ownership over the code you submit?

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    Ellidi
  4. Can we enter a bot? by Cybert4 · · Score: 2, Funny

    That does the programming? In a few years, a bot will clean up this type of thing much like a forklift cleans up at a weightlifting competition.

    1. Re:Can we enter a bot? by mindsuck · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'd argue that in the case of a computer playing chess, it was instructed how to play by humans.

      A better analogy would be a computer that is able to take the rules of chess as it's only input and figure out how to play and beat humans on it's own.

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      --- I w00t, therefore I'm l33t.
  5. As with most slashdot questions... by LordEd · · Score: 3, Informative

    perhaps you should ask google first? Terms and conditions here

    1. Re:As with most slashdot questions... by Morkano · · Score: 3, Informative
      This would seem to be the relevant passage:
      (f) licenses to TopCoder and Google rights to all information submitted during the tournament (including rights to source code and other executables)
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      Victory or awesome!
  6. Re:Perl? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    They did it that way to make it fair for the other languages. Otherwise, us Perl guys would dominate the contest.

  7. False Advertisment? by Awod · · Score: 3, Informative

    Or at least poorly written. Want a chance at $165,000? Here's how: Google Code Jam 2006. This competition is a chance for you to use your skills and compete against top programmers from all over the world. Thats on the registration page. On the main page it's slightly different, first prize 10k, 2-10 5k and so on until it all adds up to the suggested 165k. True, it all adds up, but if you wanted to enter and were given a link only to the registration page it can be quite misleading.

  8. Would be nice... by julesh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... if they included some previous questions with their previous results. That way, you could know what these people had done in order to win the prizes they won. Would be much more interesting than a table with apparently meaningless numbers in it.

    1. Re:Would be nice... by Doggan · · Score: 5, Informative

      Here is a link to a previous year's problem with a C++ solution. An interesting problem.

  9. Re:Have to use their IDE! by coshx · · Score: 4, Informative

    All they say is that you cannot use TopCoder plugins or modify the applet, but do not consider it cheating to copy the problem statement into another IDE, do your development there, and copy the code back. In fact, a good handwritten (e.g. you wrote it yourself and did not get it from a TC plugin) regular expression or two should suffice to parse the problem statement into class/method stubs and test cases. You tie running that regular expression to a macro and you're all set.

  10. vb.net? by marko_ramius · · Score: 2, Funny
    The Google Code Jam 2006 allows coders to utilize Java, C++, C#, VB.NET or Python* as a competition programming language.
    Can vb.net even be considered a language?
  11. Python, too by hauntedspaceship · · Score: 2, Informative

    This will be the first year that Python will be allowed along side the traditional TopCoder languages (Java, C++, C#, and VB). I think it will be very interesting to see how Python, which more often than not get can get more done with less code and less time, will compare to the heavier languages like C#, C++, and Java. I wonder if Guido working at Google had anything to do with it?

  12. Bad timing for university students! by 5plicer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The qualification round coincides with my first week of classes :(

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    The bits on the bus go on and off... on and off... on and off...
  13. Re:Perl? by Millenniumman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe they want to be able to read the code you've written, or perhaps they don't want their entire search engine rewritten on one line.

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    Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. And you don't want to get any on you.
  14. Re:Have to use their IDE! by SilentStrike · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here is a list of 10 problems used in the google code jam india. This was found with with google query google code jam 250 (250 stands for the point value of the easy problem).

    You can practice on similiar problems in the same environment in the topcoder testing arena. Register for topcoder here. Referrer rrenaud.

  15. Actually I get paid extra. by FatSean · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You say that like it is a bad thing. I'd rather keep my well-paid job than get a measly $10,000 and 'recognition'.

    I get money for rising to challenges, money for patents filed, money for new ideas. Of course it helps keep me away from the killing floor when job-cuts come arround, but I've survived 11 years...I'm doing pretty well.

    This is the Republican America, where 9-5 is a dream. Just accept that you need to work a little harder than most countries...in order to benefit from a richer life-style than most countries, and you will understand.

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    Blar.