A popular criticism of coding interviews is that candidates can cheat by looking up common questions and memorizing the answers. I don’t know if anyone has succeeded using that approach, but it doesn’t seem to me like it would work. Is it possible to memorise the tricks of algorithm questions to crack the Google interview? […]
ContinueQuora: Optimizing Competitive Programming Solutions
Long ago, I wrote an article about Profiling Java Programs with VisualVM. It can be interesting to analyze code to find performance bottlenecks. But for competitive programming solutions, it’s usually a losing battle. If you choose the wrong algorithm, no amount of micro-optimization will help. What are ways to optimize programs? My algorithms are strong […]
ContinueA Project for 2020
People often use the term competitive programming to refer to any activity (besides homework) where programmers create solutions to made-up puzzles rather than real-world problems. For example, consider this Quora question: Which is the best online judge for competitive programming, HackerRank, HackerEarth or LeetCode? As Bohdan Pryshchenko points out in his answer, these three sites […]
ContinueRed-Green-Code: 2019 in Review
As 2019 comes to a close, I’m continuing my tradition of reviewing posts from the past year. This year was divided into two halves. In the first half, I covered topics in discrete math, math for competitive programming, and math learning in general. In the second half, I changed my blog content approach. More on […]
ContinueQuora Experiment 2019: Week 25
People debate how useful competitive programming practice is for getting better at real-world programming. But there’s one area where it definitely helps: Why are people obsessed with competitive programming when it’s not used in real-world programming jobs? (answer) Why is this post so short? Find the answer, and links to a blog table of contents, […]
ContinueQuora Experiment 2019: Week 24
To get better at solving coding interview problems, you have to solve a lot of coding interview problems. So a reasonable question to ask (though it’s hard to answer accurately) is: How many LeetCode problems should I do? (answer) Why is this post so short? Find the answer, and links to a blog table of […]
ContinueQuora Experiment 2019: Week 23
This question seems basic, but it’s a core issue in math and programming practice: What does one do when they read a problem statement, think a bit and figure they don’t know how to solve it? (answer) Why is this post so short? Find the answer, and links to a blog table of contents, at […]
ContinueQuora Experiment 2019: Week 22
In many Quora questions, people ask what’s required to start competitive programming. It’s not always clear what they’re looking for with these questions, since you don’t need to apply to be a competitive programmer. Online judges are free. Just register and try one out. Here’s a question where the writer is a bit more specific […]
ContinueQuora Experiment 2019: Week 21
Some companies use a combination of automated and manual screening when deciding which candidates to invite for in-person interviews. A Quora user had a question about that: Do companies that test their applicants using HackerRank actually look at the code or just whether they passed the test cases or not? (answer) And here’s another question […]
ContinueQuora Experiment 2019: Week 20
If you practice math or programming problems from a source that provides solutions, you have to decide when to peek at the solution. That might lead you to ask a question like this: Is it still effective learning if I try medium and hard coding challenges and give up after 30 minutes and just review […]
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