Red-Green-Code

Deliberate practice techniques for software developers

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Project 462
  • CP FAQ
  • Newsletter

Using Khan Academy for Post-Mastery Practice

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Jan 23 0

Before learning discrete math, it’s useful to know how much other math you remember. Last week, I discussed how Khan Academy is uniquely useful for evaluating and improving your skills in math topics through Calculus. But eventually you might reach Mastery level in all Khan Academy math skills. Does that mean it’s time to move […]

Continue

How Useful is Khan Academy for Learning Math?

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Jan 16 0

Math builds on itself, so trying to learn a math topic without first mastering its prerequisites is just asking for trouble. A good place to learn prerequisites is Khan Academy. Although it’s missing many advanced math topics, it covers the basics well. And the way it organizes practice problems ensures that you regularly get tested […]

Continue

How Important is Math for Competitive Programming?

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Jan 10 0

Competitive programming practice sites often organize problems by topic area. For example, uHunt has categories for graphs, string processing, dynamic programming, and many others. uHunt Chapter 5 covers topics in mathematics. Since math is a separate field from computer science and algorithms (though it’s closely related), I’m considering this week how it relates to competitive […]

Continue

A Project for 2019

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Jan 3 0

Petr Mitrichev, legendary competitive programmer and current Google employee, didn’t major in computer science. He got a degree from Moscow State University in mathematics. In a Topcoder Spotlight Session in 2008, he answered a few questions about how math relates to competitive programming practice:

Continue

Competitive Programming Frequently Asked Questions: 2018 In Review

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Dec 27 0

For each of the past two years, I’ve been working on year-long projects and writing about them here. In 2017, the topic was designing and coding a time-tracking app. This year, my project was a competitive programming FAQ. Like most FAQs, it’s a work in progress, but it now contains a set of popular questions, […]

Continue

CPFAQ: How Did X Become a Top Competitive Programmer, Part 2

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Dec 19 0

I’m working on a project this year to build a competitive programming FAQ. This is one in a series of articles describing the research, writing, and tool creation process. To read the whole series, see my CPFAQ category page. Last month, I described how several successful competitive programmers approached their training. These stories are not […]

Continue

CPFAQ: How Do Coding Interviews Differ from Coding Contests?

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Dec 13 0

I’m working on a project this year to build a competitive programming FAQ. This is one in a series of articles describing the research, writing, and tool creation process. To read the whole series, see my CPFAQ category page. It’s no secret that the popularity of competitive programming depends partly on the popularity of the […]

Continue

CPFAQ: A Topcoder Chat with Petr Mitrichev

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Dec 6 0

I’m working on a project this year to build a competitive programming FAQ. This is one in a series of articles describing the research, writing, and tool creation process. To read the whole series, see my CPFAQ category page. On September 20, 2008, Petr Mitrichev took part in a Topcoder Spotlight Session where he answered […]

Continue

CPFAQ: How Did X Become a Top Competitive Programmer?

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Nov 29 0

I’m working on a project this year to build a competitive programming FAQ. This is one in a series of articles describing the research, writing, and tool creation process. To read the whole series, see my CPFAQ category page. Questions that are too specific to one person’s situation don’t work well on Quora. They tend […]

Continue

CPFAQ: How Long Should I Work on a Programming Problem Before Looking at the Answer?

By Duncan Smith Leave a Comment Nov 21 0

I’m working on a project this year to build a competitive programming FAQ. This is one in a series of articles describing the research, writing, and tool creation process. To read the whole series, see my CPFAQ category page. Anyone who has practiced solving competitive programming or coding interview problems, has confronted a choice: when […]

Continue
  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • …
  • 50
  • Next Page »

Getting Started

Are you new here? Check out my review posts for a tour of the archives:

  • 2023 in Review: 50 LeetCode Tips
  • 2022 in Review: Content Bots
  • 2021 in Review: Thoughts on Solving Programming Puzzles
  • Lessons from the 2020 LeetCode Monthly Challenges
  • 2019 in Review
  • Competitive Programming Frequently Asked Questions: 2018 In Review
  • What I Learned Working On Time Tortoise in 2017
  • 2016 in Review
  • 2015 in Review
  • 2015 Summer Review

Archives

Recent Posts

  • Will AI Coding Assistants “Deskill” Us? January 30, 2026
  • Stateless by Design: How to Work With AI Coding Assistants December 31, 2025
  • Do Coding Bots Mean the End of Coding Interviews? December 31, 2024
  • Another Project for 2024 May 8, 2024
  • Dynamic Programming Wrap-Up May 1, 2024
  • LeetCode 91: Decode Ways April 24, 2024
  • LeetCode 70: Climbing Stairs April 17, 2024
  • LeetCode 221: Maximal Square April 10, 2024
  • Using Dynamic Programming for Maximum Product Subarray April 3, 2024
  • LeetCode 62: Unique Paths March 27, 2024
Red-Green-Code
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Project 462
  • CP FAQ
  • Newsletter
Copyright © 2026 Duncan Smith