54 lines
No EOL
1.8 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
No EOL
1.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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slug: /intro/getting-started
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title: Getting Started
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author: Nathan Wang, Benjamin Qi
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order: 2
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---
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- Introduction
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- Contest Format
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- Choosing a Language
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<!-- END DESCRIPTION -->
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Todo:
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- Video clip from Brian Dean?
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- Explains what USACO is all about & how it works
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## Introduction
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In competitive programming contests, one must solve well-defined problems by writing computer programs under specified constraints ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_programming)). Typically, the most popular language is C++, followed by Java and Python.
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[William Lin - What is Competitive Programming?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=ueNT-w7Oluw)
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## Contest Format
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(todo)
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See [USACO contests](http://www.usaco.org/index.php?page=contests).
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## Choosing a Language
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If you're in Bronze, **don't worry about the language!** If you already know a language, just use it. You can always switch languages down the road.
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In general, we recommend the following:
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- For Bronze contestants, any of C++/Java/Python will do.
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- If you know multiple languages, we recommend you pick C++ over Java, and Java over Python.
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- For Silver, Gold, and Platinum, we recommend C++/Java.
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- If you know multiple languages, we recommend you pick C++ over Java.
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Note: A majority of high level contestants use C++ and Java. Between those, C++ is more popular.
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Keep in mind that it's easy to switch languages down the road! Don't get caught up on which language to choose. Just pick the one you feel most comfortable with!
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### Language References
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All of these are provided at the IOI asside from the additional C++ reference.
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- [C++](https://en.cppreference.com/w/)
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- [Additional C++ Reference](http://www.cplusplus.com/)
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- [Java](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/overview-summary.html)
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- [Python3](https://docs.python.org/3/reference/) |