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Advent of Code: Behind the Scenes
Get an inside look at the Advent of Code, a popular programming contest where participants solve puzzles to improve their coding skills, with insights on its history, mechanics, and effects on programmers.
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Key points about Advent of Code:
- It is a programming contest with puzzles to be solved in a short time.
- People participate voluntarily and are not paid.
- The site records data on users and their answers.
- The site used to be hosted on Google’s servers but now uses AWS.
- Microsoft and Google engineers participate in the contest.
- People love the contest and it has become a cult of sorts.
- The boss would not let me quit working on the contest.
- The contest is moderated and users who cheat will be punished.
- People love the contest and have been doing it for years.
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Fun facts about the contest:
- It was started in 2016 by a person who stopped his bosses from stopping the contest.
- The site was originally hosted on Google’s servers but moved to AWS in 2020.
- The company has 5-10 times the number of people participating in the contest.
- The contest started with small puzzles but has become more complex.
- People solve the puzzles quickly and sometimes use their friend’s solutions.
- The contest is popular worldwide and has spread to many countries.
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Insights on the effect of the contest on users:
- The contest has helped people learn better algorithms.
- It has also helped people improve their programming skills.
- The contest encourages users to think creatively and problem-solve.
- Some people enjoy the contest so much they do it daily.
- The contest is popular with both new and experienced programmers.
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Notable points:
- Self-service tools are very popular in the contest.
- People always say something like “oh, I’m tired” when solving the puzzles.
- I sometimes send a written-up answer.
- People participate in teams and there are some super teams.
- There are some digital scoreboard music issues.
- Google engineers also participate in the contest.
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Conclusion:
- The contest has been successful and people love it.
- It is a valuable way to learn programming.
- People enjoy the contest and have been doing it for years.