I really like how the Advent of Code is structured. Not only it makes you think about how to solve the problem, it pushes you to architecture your code defensively so when you get the new requirements in part 2, you have the least amount of code to change. I remember being bitten in a problem involving a keypad: I didn't think the keypad shape could change!
Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
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Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#92You can also try https://advent-of-pure-code.vercel.app/ as an alternative
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#93First day was a pretty fun start. Just heard about this for the first time this year and going to give it a go. Tangential question - why does the HN crowd hate these types of questions in interviews but apparently likes to do them on their own time? Different folks answering to different posts? Honestly curious.
Doing CS puzzles in a timed environment with someone watching your every move is a lot different to solving such puzzles leisurely.
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#94Every time I do the AoC puzzles I wish for two things: 1) The site should ask for the language used to solve the problem and then use this as semi-scientific data for comparing "time-to-solution" for various languages. The sheer volume of data and the relatively high difficulty of cheating on novel problems would make this data set interesting and maybe even useful. 2) I wish all the puzzles had a "hardcore" mode whe…
Part2 is quite often what you wish for in 2), isn't it? At least for the later puzzles, part1 is often something that can be solved naively, while part2 needs some cleverness to not blow up.
In previous years there have always been several I can just use a massive swapfile to get it
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#95AoC is one of my favorite events of the year! I find the puzzles generally approachable, but interesting enough to spend time on. I also like that there's a definitively right answer, which motivates me in an interesting way. I've developed a base class over the years that handles input parsing, so I can focus more on the solutions themselves. Additionally I've been solving for a number of years, but for the past 2 y…
wow, your username somewhat resembles mine!
Ha, so it does. A small world. :)
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#96AoC is one of my favorite events of the year! I find the puzzles generally approachable, but interesting enough to spend time on. I also like that there's a definitively right answer, which motivates me in an interesting way. I've developed a base class over the years that handles input parsing, so I can focus more on the solutions themselves. Additionally I've been solving for a number of years, but for the past 2 y…
I just skimmed through your repo, and I loved the way that you used AoC as an opportunity to share many of the batteries that are included in the Python stdlib. In one particular case, I wanted to also share some more fun corners of the collections module / common algorithms and sent you a pull request.
Thank you for reading! I never thought to accept contributions on here, but these look great. Thank you for sending it over!
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#97I really like how the Advent of Code is structured. Not only it makes you think about how to solve the problem, it pushes you to architecture your code defensively so when you get the new requirements in part 2, you have the least amount of code to change. I remember being bitten in a problem involving a keypad: I didn't think the keypad shape could change!
I personally hate it. I wish they could just give a clear specification of what they want instead of putting it in the format of a story where some things are vague.
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#98Time for my yearly tradition of making it to day 4 in Haskell and feeling very smart before completely giving up on the first hard problem that needs regular arrays :)
That's me but with F# :')
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
1. Have everything in place at the start (a script to grab the inputs helps). 2. Use a language that makes the edit/run cycle short. 3. Be very familiar with that language and how to process input in it. 4. Have solved many similar problems in the past so you can parse these problem statements quickly. 5. Have solved many similar problems in the past so you know exactly what code to write or use (if you have a utilit…
“Have solved many similar problems in the past so you can parse these problem statements quickly” This sounds like an advent of code specific thing. The problem itself is trivial, no need to have solved anything similar in the past, but the description is so verbose (because it’s a cute Santa-related story) that it becomes hard to parse the problem we’re trying to solve, quickly. I don’t think this is common in any o…
Google FooBar uses this exact form as well, state the problem as a somewhat consistent story through the different challenges.
Re: Advent of Code 2022 is nigh
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's optional in this context.
Why would it be optional in an interview? You want a job, I want to know that you've seen software development before. (Now for context, the interview questions I typically would recommend are a order of magnitude easier than AoC's typical bar, in the language of the candidate's choice, ideally on a real computer and not a whiteboard. Tonight's question though (a warmup) wouldn't be a bad one. It's straight-forward,…
Personally i just think it's not a good way to assess. Such challenges are mostly about coming up with "creative" solutions. I think that pressure can be good for creativity but it can also be it's death.
However, motivation is important for creativity. Competing online with other like minded people is a good motivation whereas a job is something you need literally in order to survive. It's not really comparable imo.