NCSS Challenge

The NCSS Challenge is run by the School of Information Technologies at the University of Sydney as part of the National Computer Science School (NCSS).

The Challenge is unlike any other programming competition because we will teach you how to program as we go along rather than expecting you to be an expert coder already. However, if you are a seasoned coder, we have something for you too because the problems will range from relatively simple through to mind-bendingly hard.

For 5 weeks starting on 10th August, 2009, we will email you a short tutorial containing the information you will need to complete the week's programming challenges. In 2009, there are three streams to the Challenge:

• the beginner's stream, which doesn't assume any knowledge of programming and introduces the Python programming language;
• the advanced stream, for students who know Python and want harder problems; and
• the embedded stream, for students interested in the interface between software and the real world. This stream was developed in cooperation with NICTA and Embedded Systems Australia, and introduces the C programming language using the Arduino development environment. Places are limited, so contact us if you are interested.

Registration costs $12 per participant for each stream (incl GST). The embedded stream requires access to special hardware that we supply, which costs an additional $55 (incl GST) and can be shared among a small group of students. Students working at home will need to buy their own board. The hardware cost is subsidised by sponsors (the actual board cost is $132).

If you would like to take part in any of these streams, please register.

You will have until Sunday night to submit your solutions to the Challenge website, where they will be marked automatically. A full set of correct solutions, hints and commentary about each challenge will be sent out the following week.

If you have questions or comments, email us at challenge@it.usyd.edu.au.