Parallax Coder: Introduction to Competitive Programming 2023 Workshop
Many Indonesians possess the skills and passion for technology, yet often find themselves limited in opportunities to hone their craft. Enter Parallax Coder, a community-driven organisation that seeks to empower and nurture the talents of the aspiring Indonesians.
The Parallax Coder Workshop is designed to engage participants in an environment that is both challenging and encouraging, allowing them to learn and grow in their own way.
Insights from Parallax Coder Workshop
Parallax Coder’s Competitive Programming workshop was a resounding success, accepting 22 participants with a range of programming experience. An insightful pre-workshop survey revealed that while 17 of the participants had prior programming experience, only a small minority had previously engaged with the competitive programming scene. However, the participants’ shared understanding of the growing importance of programming in our society and their desire to incorporate programming into their future careers propelled them to open up to this avenue.
Parallax Coder Workshop: A Comprehensive Breakdown
The Parallax Coder’s Competitive Programming Workshop is a rigorous four-week course designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to enable them to code competently. The course is structured in order to cover a range of topics focused particularly in Competitive Programming.
Week 1 of the course is focused on introducing participants to the C++ language. The decision to start with C++ is due to its efficiency and superior speed compared to Python. C++ is also more widely supported and adaptable, making it a preferred choice for competitive programming.
Week 2 delves into the world of competitive programming, covering everything from how to train effectively to the different types of problems and techniques used to solve them. The aim is to provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to the competitive programming scene, including the benefits of participation and the potential to ace technical interviews with tech firms.
Week 3 is all about algorithms, specifically brute-forcing, and the various techniques used to solve problems efficiently. These algorithms are key to mastering competitive programming and are taught in a clear and concise way to ensure participants can apply them effectively.
Participants experience the thrill of a competitive programming contest for the first time in Week 4. Our aim was to simulate the feeling of competing in a genuine contest so they would feel more comfortable participating in future programming tasks.
Closing Ceremony
In first place was Derrick Maverick, Andrew Colie coming in second, followed by Richard Lim in third place. All of them displayed an excellent grasp of the programming concepts covered throughout the course and secured their position as the top performers in the contest.
As the first Parallax Coder workshop came to a close, we are pleased to say that the project was a huge success. Stay tuned as we are very excited about our upcoming projects!
