Code Jam returns: Do you have what it takes?
Today we invite anyone with a passion for coding—from students to professionals, and newbies to pros—to sign up for Code Jam, Google's largest, most challenging programming competition.
Last year, Code Jam welcomed 60,000 Code Jammers from more than 130 countries. The competition features multiple online rounds of intense, algorithmic problems, a track for coding in a distributed environment, an on-site World Finals and the opportunity to win a cash prize of up to $15,000. While we’ve changed and grown from our humble beginnings in 2007, much of the essential ingredients that make Code Jam beloved by so many remain the same.
Here’s what you need to know:
The languages are many. Code Jam allows competitors to use any coding language throughout the competition—everything from C++ to JavaScript to INTERCAL, LOLCODE, and Whitespace. We’ve even heard of a competitor who solved the 2015 Dijkstra problem using only a spreadsheet. Whatever language you speak, you’re part of a broader Code Jam community. This global community of current and former participants (and fans of the competition) has grown to more than 200,000 across our Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Facebook channels. And on any given day, you can participate in discussions about competition puzzles or get tips and tricks from past competitors.
The problems are memorable. The quality of the problems keeps many of the world’s best programmers coming back each year. All Code Jam problems are written by Google engineers. Hundreds have dedicated their time over the years to make every problem rewarding and fun for Code Jammers, from the easiest Qualification Round problem to the most fiendish challenge in the World Finals. You can check out past problems here and try your hand at them for practice. A lesser known fact is that the engineers who authored the problems in last year’s World Finals were actually competitors before they were teammates: all four were finalists in Code Jam 2005.
The stakes are high. In addition to receiving the limited edition Code Jam t-shirt (given to the top 1,500 performers), the top 26 finalists will be invited to compete in the World Finals at Google’s office in Dublin, Ireland for the chance become the Code Jam Champion and a cash prize of up to $15,000. As always, we’ll livestream the World Finals on YouTube so that thousands of fans can experience the magic from home. Can’t wait until then? Check out this behind-the-scenes look at Code Jam in the meantime.
Register today. We hope to see you jamming with us in Code Jam’s Online Qualification Round on April 7 — you can register here. Join our community on social media, follow us at #CodeJam2017 and help us spread the word.
Visit our website g.co/codejam to learn more about Code Jam spin-offs and other opportunities to test your coding skills while having fun with Google.
