K-State High School Programming Competition 2024

Background

Kansas State University hosts an annual programming competition for high school students, challenging their problem-solving skills, teamwork, and coding abilities. The competition involves solving a series of programming problems using Java, where teams are required to write code that meets specific criteria and passes various test cases.

The K-State Programming Challenge

Full details can be found here.

In summary:

You and your team are tasked with solving a set of programming problems within a limited time frame. Each problem has a set of inputs and expected outputs, and your solutions must be efficient and correct. The problems range from simple algorithms to more complex data structures and logic puzzles. Your code will be tested against multiple test cases to ensure accuracy and performance.

Additionally, there are bonus challenges that can earn extra points. These may include optimizing your code for speed, reducing memory usage, or implementing advanced algorithms. The competition also features a live coding round where teams must solve a surprise problem on-site.

Design Choices

When preparing for this competition, we considered several strategies to tackle the problems effectively.

1. Focus on understanding the problem statements thoroughly before coding.
2. Divide the problems among team members based on individual strengths.
3. Use pair programming for more complex problems to ensure accuracy and efficiency.
4. Implement a version control system to manage code changes and collaborate effectively.

After careful consideration, we decided to use a combination of individual problem-solving and pair programming. This approach allowed us to leverage each team member's strengths while ensuring that complex problems were tackled collaboratively.

The First Iteration

Our initial approach involved setting up a development environment with all necessary tools and libraries. We chose Java as our primary programming language due to its robustness and familiarity.

We started by solving simpler problems to build confidence and establish a workflow. Each team member took on a problem, wrote the initial code, and then reviewed it with another team member. This process helped us catch errors early and improve our solutions.

We also set up a repository on GitHub to manage our code and track changes. This allowed us to collaborate effectively and ensure that everyone had access to the latest code.

The Problems with the First Iteration

During our initial attempts, we encountered several challenges. Some problems were more complex than anticipated, requiring a deeper understanding of algorithms and data structures. We also faced issues with time management, as some problems took longer to solve than expected.

One significant issue was with handling edge cases. Our initial solutions often failed when tested with unusual or extreme inputs. To address this, we implemented more rigorous testing and reviewed our code to ensure it handled all possible scenarios.

Another challenge was optimizing our code for performance. Some problems required efficient algorithms to pass all test cases within the time limits. We spent additional time refining our solutions and learning new techniques to improve our code's efficiency.

Building a Second Iteration

After identifying the issues with our first iteration, we decided to refine our approach. We focused on improving our problem-solving strategies and optimizing our code.

We started by revisiting the problems we struggled with and analyzing our solutions. We identified areas for improvement and implemented more efficient algorithms. We also practiced solving similar problems to build our skills and confidence.

To improve our collaboration, we held regular team meetings to discuss our progress and share insights. We also used online resources and tutorials to learn new techniques and approaches.

Competition Day!!!

On the day of the competition, we were excited and nervous. We didn't know what to expect, but we were confident in our preparation and teamwork.

The Hackathon

The hackathon was an intense 2-hour event where we had to solve a surprise problem. The problem required us to implement a system to compare datasets and analyze the results. This was a challenging task, but we worked together effectively and managed to complete it within the time limit.

The Results

The results were announced during the closing ceremony. We were thrilled to hear that we placed second out of 25 teams! It was a proud moment for us, and we were grateful for the support of our teachers, classmates, and parents.

Overall, the K-State High School Programming Competition was a challenging and rewarding experience. It helped us improve our coding skills, learn new techniques, and work effectively as a team.