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Advent of Code 2025

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Re: Advent of Code 2025

#311

Post by magimas »

deergomoo wrote: post #225

> You don't need a computer science background to participate - just a little programming knowledge and some problem solving skills will get you pretty far. Every time I see this I wonder how many amateur/hobbyist programmers it sets up for disappointment. Unless your definition of “pretty far” is “a small number of the part ones”, it’s simply not true.

mh, maybe it's cheating because it's still a STEM degree but I have a PhD in physics without any real computer science courses (obviously had computational physics courses etc. though) and I managed to 100% solve quite a few years without too much trouble. (though far away from the global leaderboard and with the last few days always taking several hours to solve)

Re: Advent of Code 2025

#312

Post by roman_soldier »

Not a fan of these "Coding for fun" things. Code for a job to earn money, yes, a side project where there is an end goal, yes. This seems like a waste of time for working developer.

Maybe it's useful for people trying to learn but also becoming pointless now as all Junior dev roles can be done with AI.

I mean do plumbers have an advent of plumbing where they try and unblock shit filled toilets for fun?

Re: Advent of Code 2025

#314

Post by stablesteady »

roman_soldier wrote: post #312

Not a fan of these "Coding for fun" things. Code for a job to earn money, yes, a side project where there is an end goal, yes. This seems like a waste of time for working developer. Maybe it's useful for people trying to learn but also becoming pointless now as all Junior dev roles can be done with AI. I mean do plumbers have an advent of plumbing where they try and unblock shit filled toilets for fun?

It's literally just puzzles which have to be solved through code. Solving puzzles is a very normal thing to do for many people

Re: Advent of Code 2025

#315

Post by 0xEF »

ab5tract wrote: post #301
llmthrow0827 wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's totally true. I was doing Advent of Code before I had any training or work in programming at all, and a lot of it can be done with just thinking through the problem logically and using basic problem solving. If you can reason a word problem into what it's asking, then break it down into steps, you're 90% of the way there.

The statistics speak a far different story, I’m afraid.

Comparing previous years, they're exactly what I'd expect, to be honest. Only people serious about completion will...well...complete it. Even if they do not know any code, if you pick something well-documented like Python or whatever, it should not be a tremendous challenge so long as you have the drive to finish the event. Code isn't exactly magic, though it does require some problem-solving and dedication. Since this is a self-paced event that does not offer any sort of immediate reward for completion, most people will drop out due to limited bandwidth needing to be devoted to everything else in their lives. That versus, say, a college course where you paid to be there and the grade counts toward your degree; there's simply more at stake when it comes to completing the course.

But, speaking to the original question as to the number of newbies that go all the way, I'd say one cannot expect to increase their skills in anything if one sticks in their comfort zone. It should be hard, and as a newbie who participated in previous years, I can confirm it often is. But I learned new things every time I did it, even if I did not finish.

Re: Advent of Code 2025

#316

Post by doublerabbit »

onion2k wrote: post #289
doublerabbit wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And this is how I know I am not a developer/programmer. I have no urge or interest in such event.

Your logic is flawed. You can be a developer and not be interested in AoC. Not being interested in AoC only shows you're not interested in AoC.

I wasn't casting logic. I'm not a developer and that when it comes to AoC I have no interest in. Nor being such.

Re: Advent of Code 2025

#319

Post by ryandv »

byearthithatius wrote: post #267
ryandv wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They... sort of are though? A year or two ago I just waited until the very last problem, which was min-cut. Anybody with a computer science education who has seen the prompt Proof. before should be able to tackle this one with some effort, guidance, and/or sufficient time. There are algorithms that don't even require all the high-falutin graph theory. I don't mean to say my solution was good, nor was it performant in…

You say in your comment: "Anybody with a computer science education ... should be able to tackle this one" which is directly opposed to what they advertise: "You don't need a computer science background to participate"

Do you understand the comment thread you are replying to?

Re: Advent of Code 2025

#320

Post by torben-friis »

roman_soldier wrote: post #312

Not a fan of these "Coding for fun" things. Code for a job to earn money, yes, a side project where there is an end goal, yes. This seems like a waste of time for working developer. Maybe it's useful for people trying to learn but also becoming pointless now as all Junior dev roles can be done with AI. I mean do plumbers have an advent of plumbing where they try and unblock shit filled toilets for fun?

>I mean do plumbers have an advent of plumbing where they try and unblock shit filled toilets for fun?

No, but you’ll see it for writers, musicians, and the like.

Engineering (software or not) can be an intellectually rewarding experience for many. I don’t know why some people find this something to scoff at, would you rather have no pleasure derived from your work?

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