Sites for some practice programming

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around resources for practicing programming skills, particularly in Python and other languages. Participants share various websites that offer programming challenges, some of which incorporate mathematical concepts and bioinformatics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares that their professor recommended Project Euler for practicing programming skills, noting that the problems often require mathematical thinking.
  • Another participant mentions that Rosalind.info starts with easy problems and progresses to more difficult bioinformatics challenges, providing sample code solutions after successful submissions.
  • It is noted that Rosalind allows for changing data on each attempt, with a time limit for submissions and a section for clarifying questions.
  • A participant highlights the potential for long run times in Project Euler problems unless mathematical techniques are applied to optimize computations.
  • One participant expresses enjoyment in using Codewars, appreciating the ability to solve problems in multiple programming languages and the need for thoughtful approaches before coding.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the usefulness of the mentioned resources for practicing programming, but there is no consensus on which site is superior or the best approach to solving the problems.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the importance of considering time complexity in programming challenges, indicating that not all problems may be solvable within reasonable time frames without optimization techniques.

Who May Find This Useful

Students and individuals looking to improve their programming skills, particularly in Python and other languages, may find these resources beneficial.

scottdave
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This is not a question, but a note, which I thought could help students.

I thought I would share this here, as people may be looking for practice problems.

My professor in the Python course I just finished recommended https://projecteuler.net/ as a site to practice using programming skills. There are some nice problems which usually involve some mathematical thinking, and then possibly using some program to perform the computations.

http://rosalind.info/problems/locations/ starts out with some easy problems, designed to be solved with Python, and then gets more difficult with some Bioinformatics related problems. Here is a Wikipedia article about bioinformatics, in case you don't know what that is.

On the Rosalind.info problems that I've gone through so far, they give sample code solutions to the problems.
 
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In Rosalind, the data can change for each attempt. On each attempt, you get 5 minutes to submit a solution.

So you get to see the solution code after you have successfully submitted a correct answer. But there is a question section where people can ask clarifying questions or possibly get some general hints on what direction to go in. It looks like some fun practice.
 
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scottdave said:
My professor in the Python course I just finished recommended https://projecteuler.net/ as a site to practice using programming skills. There are some nice problems which usually involve some mathematical thinking, and then possibly using some program to perform the computations.
Project Euler has brainstorming problems. While doing the programs, complexity has to be kept in mind. Sometimes time complexity becomes so large that the program might take hours to run.
 
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Yes some of the problems in Project Euler would run for extremely long times, unless a mathematical technique can be used to make computations quicker or shorter.
I recently started practicing in https://www.codewars.com which I'm enjoying. I like that each problem is designed for perhaps multiple programming languages, so I can choose to solve it in different languages. Currently I'm trying to improve my skills in R, so I'm looking for those. I also want to improve my Python. Many of the problems need to be thought through for proper approach before just 'coding away'.
 
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