The New Zealand Programming Competition
(Waikato University Site)
is on Saturday 4th August, 2007,
in the R-Block labs.

Programme:
  • 11am: Introduction and Practice Session
  • 1-6pm: The competition!
  • 6pm: Pizza for dinner (free!), followed by Prize Giving.

Site prizes will be awarded to the winning teams at each level (junior, intermediate and senior), plus spot prizes.

Here is the official ACM website for the international competition:
The ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest

Here are some example local results from a few years ago.
2002 Local Results.

2002 National Results.

What is the Contest Like?

Try it. You'll like it! The contest pits teams of three with one computer against a host of problems in a limited time-frame. Typically, ten or more problems are posed with five hours to solve as many as you can. These problems can generally be solved by careful analysis and application of algorithms taught in undergraduate computer science. Some are real corkers. Practicing for the contest involves cleaning up your computing background and being able to produce under pressure.

What are the benefits?

This is probably the best part. You learn to work under pressure. You learn to pick the right tool for the job. You learn to work as a team. Egoless programming, it's a high ideal.

If you do well you get to add "Winner of the Waikato University Programming Competition" to your C.V. From there you get to enter the NZ programming competition, the South Pacific programming competition, and if you're successful, you go to the U.S.A. and compete for the World title!

Who is Eligible to Compete?

Anyone. Everyone. If you can think, write code and you're keen, join up. If you're already good and you want to be better, join up too.

Show me some examples

The ACM competition has hard questions. They're looking for the best programmers in the world! These questions below are the easy ones. Follow the ACM link to read the harder questions.

  • Easy (1 point) and for your coding pleasure (A solution in C++)
  • Word Count (5 points) and once more (A solution in C++, or C)
  • Rough Flying (5 points)
  • Counting Drinks (5 points)
  • Missing Card (5 points) compare your answer with (this one in C++)
  • Euclidean Algorithm (5 points)
  • Total Selection (5 points)
  • Process Control (15 points)
  • Sequences (15 points)
  • Holes (15 points)
  • Morse Code (15 points)
  • Check Digits (15 points)
  • Filling Time (50 points)
  • Number Chains (50 points)
  • Cheque Writing (50 points)
  • Digit Sums (150 points)
  • Find the number (150 points)
    • If these are too easy for you, then wow!, we're impressed. Let us know and we'll get you some more.

    Interesting links

    The ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest

    Results of 1997 Waikato University Competition (26th July 1997).

    Results of 1998 Waikato University Competition (10th Oct 1998).

    Results of 2002 Waikato University Competition (24th Aug 2002).

    Results of 2002 National Competition