in reply to Perl on Topcoder

You get points proportional to (solved : bool)*(time to solve : int).

The longer it takes to solve a problem, the more points you get? Hmmm... that sounds... odd! Are these demerit points?

After the round is over, you get to view the other member's code and try to find test cases on which they will fail (and get more points when you do).

Apparently not... hmmm... How do you win? By doing a really bad job, and pointing out how others do a really bad job, too?

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: Perl on Topcoder
by itub (Priest) on Sep 12, 2005 at 22:47 UTC
    How do you win? By doing a really bad job, and pointing out how others do a really bad job, too?

    That sounds suspiciously similar to politics. :-)

[reply]
Re^2: Perl on Topcoder
by fbinard (Beadle) on Sep 12, 2005 at 22:56 UTC
    sorry:

    1st part: inverse proportional to (solved)?time to solve:max time

    2nd part is correct. You get additional points for any test case that faults the code. You get demerits for trying a test case that fails (by being handled correctly by the adverse program)

    Many reasons to want to use Perl sometimes. Just 2:

    • There are problems that are just made for regex handling.
    • creating and using a map using the stl (in C++) is way longer than using a hash (and time is a factor)

    Franck Binard
[reply]
      using regexes is IMHO cheating when it comes to showing how much brain power you have :) They are too convenient and a huge shortcut in many cases.
[reply]
        The same can be said about computers.
[reply]
        Perhaps then the solution is to have a competition just in Perl ;)
        Franck Binard
[reply]

In Section Meditations