Fwd: On-line programming competitions
Jim
plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
Wed, 1 May 2002 09:04:52 -0700
--------------Boundary-00=_4OWFW8WLJNE2Q65ACWU2
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
FYI
- ---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Subject: On-line programming competitions
Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 11:58:41 -0400
From: "Jill Bielski" <JBielski@topcoder.com>
To: <contact@plug.phoenix.az.us>
Hello,
I am writing to introduce TopCoder software competitions,
http://www.topcoder.com. I found your email address from a list of
Linux User Groups in the US. If you believe that the following will be
helpful to your members, I ask that you pass this along. Feel free to
use this email as is or with any personal touch you'd like.
TopCoder is a high profile set of programming competitions that
culminate in an international competition once a year: The TopCoder
Invitational. We seek to provide value to programmers of all skill
levels through the use of head to head competition.
TopCoder competitions offer the following benefits to programmers:
* Fair and objective assessment of
programming skill.
* Ability to learn from highly skilled
(professional and college) programmers.
* Ability to obtain a rating demonstrating
skill level.
* International recognition for highly
skilled developers.
* Exposure to employers and major
software/hardware manufacturers.
* Win a share of a $10,000 purse twice a
week.
* Ability to win up to $100,000 USD once a
year.
* No cost or obligation to the member.
How it works:
* TopCoder holds online competitions twice
per week.
* Developers have the choice to compete in
Java or C++.
* Programmers compete in a three-phase
competition consisting of:
-Phase I - Coding solutions to
three problems of varying
difficulty.
-Phase II - Challenging other
programmers code through the
use of 'challenges' to their code.
-Phase III - System test
performed by TopCoder's servers for
accuracy.
* Programmers are separated into virtual
rooms of 10 per room, giving each developer a 3 in 10 chance of winning.
* Seeding and Divisions are utilized so
programmers only compete against members of a similar skill level.
* Cash prizes are awarded based on the
placement in each room, with the top performing developers winning a
larger share of the prize pool.
TopCoder currently has fourteen thousand members, representing all of
the top schools and many of the top companies in the U.S. Roughly 600
of these members compete in each match. Our membership represents over
90 different countries.
This is a great way for coders to assess their skills against some of
the best programmers in the world. It is also a great way to learn as
all of the problems and solutions are available online.
Again, I invite you to send this email to your members should you think
it would benefit them. Please do not hesitate to email me at
jbielski@topcoder.com with any questions.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Jill Bielski
Membership Relations
TopCoder
www.topcoder.com
P.S. You can also earn some extra cash by referring others to TopCoder.
Please check out www.topcoder.com/referral
<http://www.topcoder.com/referral> for details!
Jill Bielski
TopCoder
Member Relations
www.topcoder.com
203-422-0414
- -------------------------------------------------------
- --
Jim
Freedom is worth protecting
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP 6.5.8
iQA/AwUBPNASJisk3ywszI1FEQLTUQCfUzQmZL4W3PLXoGXX//nbeYrBBzMAniYZ
tZOON+d0xuHvRF7VDyPwqzVS
=9rj8
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
--------------Boundary-00=_4OWFW8WLJNE2Q65ACWU2
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1";
name="Attachment: 1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META NAME=3D"Generator" CONTENT=3D"MS Exchange Server version =
6.0.4712.0">
<TITLE>On-line programming competitions</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<!-- Converted from text/rtf format -->
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Hello,</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">I am writing to introduce TopCoder =
software competitions, <A =
HREF=3D"http://www.topcoder.com">http://www.topcoder.com</A>. I =
found your email address from a list of Linux User Groups in the =
US. If you believe that the following will be helpful to your =
members, I ask that you pass this along. Feel free to use this =
email as is or with any personal touch you'd like.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">TopCoder is a high profile set of =
programming competitions that culminate in an international competition =
once a year: The TopCoder Invitational. We seek to provide =
value to programmers of all skill levels through the use of head to head =
competition.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><B><I><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">TopCoder competitions offer the =
following benefits to programmers:</FONT></I></B>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<UL><UL><UL>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Fair and objective assessment of programming =
skill.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Ability to learn from highly skilled =
(professional and college) programmers.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Ability to obtain a rating demonstrating skill =
level.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">International recognition for highly skilled =
developers.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Exposure to employers and major =
software/hardware manufacturers.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Win a share of a $10,000 purse twice a week. =
</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Ability to win up to $100,000 USD once a =
year.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">No cost or obligation to the member. </FONT>
</UL></UL></UL>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><B><I><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">How it works:</FONT></I></B>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<UL><UL><UL>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">TopCoder holds online competitions twice per =
week.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Developers have the choice to compete in Java =
or C++. </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Programmers compete in a three-phase =
competition consisting of:</FONT>
<UL>
<P> <FONT FACE=3D"Times New =
Roman">-Phase I - Coding solutions to three problems of varying</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> =
difficulty.</FONT>
<BR> <FONT FACE=3D"Times New =
Roman">-Phase II - Challenging other programmers code through the =
</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> use of =
‘challenges’ to their code.</FONT>
<BR> <FONT FACE=3D"Times New =
Roman">-Phase III - System test performed by TopCoder’s servers =
for</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> =
accuracy.</FONT>
</UL>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Programmers are separated into virtual rooms of =
10 per room, giving each developer a 3 in 10 chance of winning.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Seeding and Divisions are utilized so =
programmers only compete against members of a similar skill =
level.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Wingdings">§<FONT FACE=3D"Courier =
New"> </FONT></FONT> <FONT =
FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Cash prizes are awarded based on the placement =
in each room, with the top performing developers winning a larger share =
of the prize pool.</FONT></P>
</UL></UL></UL>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">TopCoder currently has fourteen =
thousand members, representing all of the top schools and many of the =
top companies in the U.S. Roughly 600 of these members compete in =
each match. Our membership represents over 90 different countries. =
</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">This is a great way for coders to =
assess their skills against some of the best programmers in the =
world. It is also a great way to learn as all of the problems and =
solutions are available online. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Again, I invite you to send this =
email to your members should you think it would benefit them. =
Please do not hesitate to email me at jbielski@topcoder.com with any =
questions.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Thank you for your time. =
</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> </FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Sincerely,</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Jill Bielski</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">Membership Relations</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">TopCoder</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">www.topcoder.com</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman">P.S. You can also earn some extra cash =
by referring others to TopCoder. Please check out<U> =
</U></FONT><U><FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF" FACE=3D"Times New =
Roman">www.topcoder.com/referral <<A =
HREF=3D"http://www.topcoder.com/referral">http://www.topcoder.com/referra=
l</A>></FONT></U><FONT FACE=3D"Times New Roman"> for details! =
</FONT></P>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<P><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Jill Bielski</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">TopCoder</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">Member Relations</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">www.topcoder.com</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=3D2 FACE=3D"Arial">203-422-0414</FONT>
</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>
--------------Boundary-00=_4OWFW8WLJNE2Q65ACWU2--