APL Problem Solving Competition from Dyalog and a Chance to Win a Cash Prize of $ 2,500

Dyalog is offering an APL programming competition to students from all over the world. APL is an array-oriented programming language that will change the way you think about problems and data. It doesn't take long to learn enough to participate in the competition.

Competition Phases:

The competition consists of two parts:

• Phase 1 asks you to solve 10 puzzles by writing short APL functions, allowing you to demonstrate array-oriented thinking.
• Phase 2 comprises a collection of more difficult problems, each having one or two tasks. In addition to requiring array-oriented thinking, this enables you to show off your ability to write larger amounts of well-documented, high-quality, code.

The problem specifications given on this site can also be downloaded as PDF files:

• PDF of the Phase 1 problem set
• PDF of the Phase 2 problem set

Eligibility Criteria:

• The competition is open to everyone except Dyalog employees and problem set contributors. 
• Proof of full-time primary, secondary, college, or graduate enrolment is necessary to claim any of the prizes (except the non-student prize).
• Participants can only compete with one entry in the competition. However, until the deadline, participants can submit replacement solutions. Only the last submitted solution for a given problem will be judged.
• Participants must provide truthful and accurate information regarding contact and personal information.
• All entry material must be presented and submitted in English.
• Only entries that are received by the deadline are eligible. The contest cannot accept responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, or damaged.
• Participants must ensure that all solutions and answers are produced and owned by the participant. If multiple people make nearly identical Phase 2 submissions, all of them will be disqualified.
• For simpler Phase 2 problems the solutions are likely to end up being similar, so make your submission unique by adding comments in your own words, making it clear that you understand what your code does.
• You are allowed to collaborate with others in learning APL and solving the problems, but each submission must be made by a single individual and only that individual will be eligible for a prize. Each collaborator can submit their own entry, as long as each entrant's code is unique.
• Please do not post your (partial) solutions online until after the competition has closed, nor seek help from services that provide peer review.

Awards:

• Grand prize: USD 2,500 cash prize and an invitation to attend the next Dyalog user meeting. At the user meeting, the winner will receive their prize and have the opportunity to present their winning work. Dyalog Ltd will cover all user meeting fees and travel costs up to USD 3,500, plus USD 500 for incidental expenses, for the winner, but not for family or friends. The winning student is responsible for visas, travel documents, and other necessary arrangements and must be legally able to travel. The next Dyalog user meeting (Dyalog '21) is planned to be held from 10-14 October 2021 in Olhão, Portugal. if an online user meeting is held, as it was in 2020, the Grand Prize winner will be invited to present their work at that online event. They will still also receive the cash prize of USD 2,500.
• Second prize: USD 1,250 cash prize.
• Third prize: USD 750 cash prize.
• Phase 2 prizes: USD 200 cash prize for 5 participants who submit at least one correct entry for Phase 2 of the competition, selected at random.
• Phase 1 prizes (top 10): USD 100 in cash to each of the top 10 Phase 1 participants.
• Non-student prize: One non-student participant will win a complimentary registration for the next Dyalog user meeting.

About APL:

APL is a programming language developed in the 1960s by Kenneth E. Iverson. Its central datatype is the multidimensional array. It uses a large range of special graphic symbols to represent most functions and operators, leading to very concise code. APL will allow you to apply your problem-solving skills directly to your data to explore essential characteristics of data sets of any type and structure, and interactively mine the universe of algorithms for solutions to a wide variety of problems.

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