Quality First Coding Competition

The LINQS lab and UCSC’s Open Source Programs Office (OSPO) are hosting a “qualify first” coding contest.

If you want to compete, please fill out this Google Form.

For questions, email Eriq at eaugusti@ucsc.edu.

What?

This is a programming contest, but with a twist! Instead of scoring you based on your speed and solution accuracy, we score you based on your programming quality and solution accuracy. This means that instead of looking at how fast you can program a solution, we look at your number of compiles/runs instead.* The contestant that uses the least number of compiles/runs to produce passing code is the winner. Ties are broken by time.

You may use any supported programming language. You may switch the language you are using at any time. If you want to use a language that is not supported, talk to your judges as early as you can.

Food will be provided.

* Of course, the number of compiles does not 1-1 correlate with code quality, but it’s a simple objective measure we can quickly observe.

Where?

E2-180

The large lecture hall on the first floor of Engineering 2.

When?

Monday April 27, 2026
11am - 1pm

Participants who wish to compete must arrive by 12pm at the latest.

Who (is welcome)?

Anyone who wants to program! For those interested in competing against others, there is a monetary prize. For those not interested in competing, this is a great chance to test and improve your skills.

The problems are meant to be accessible to anyone with basic programming experience. The hard part is not solving the problem, it is doing it in the least number of compiles.

How (do I compete)?

You just bring yourself and your laptop to the competition. There, judges will boot a live competition image of Linux from a USB stick onto your laptop. (This will NOT use, modify, or delete any storage from your computer.) The competition image will not have access to the internet or any compilers/interpreters. Text editors will be present, but limited to ones that do not include any compilation, autocomplete, or predictive features.

With your contest-ready machine, you will now be given the problem specification. Once you have your solution ready, you will give a copy of your solution (via a provided USB stick) to the judges. If your solution passes, your ranking will be recorded. If your solution either does not compile/run or does not produce the expected output, the judges will copy the output of the run to the USB stick and return it to you. You are allowed as many attempts as you want.

Once done, you can bask in the glory of a job well done and pizza in the courtyard. Winners will likely be decided between 12pm and 12:30pm. Once winners are announced, they will receive a certificate and monetary prize. If a winner could not stay until results are announced, we will contact them via email.

Things to bring:

• Yourself
• Laptop with USB Ports
  • We will have some spare laptops, but supplies are limited.
• Pen/Pencil

Things that will be provided:

• USB with Bootable Linux Image
• USB to Transfer Solutions
• Paper
• Food

For a more detailed look at the contest procedures, see the event repository.

Why?

For the love of programming and to improve your skills!
… Also, there is a monetary prize for the winners.

• First: $50
• Second: $25
• Third: $15