How to start Competitive Programming?

All About Competitive Coding

You may have heard this term many times, but do you know what Competitive Coding/Programming really means?
How beneficial it can be for a programmer?
What is its role in the placements?
How to start Competitive Programming?

Today, we’ll be covering all about Competitive Programming. It refers to the efficient way of dealing with codes with a better algorithm using a proper DS (Data Structures).

Competitive Coding is a sport, where you have to deal with or solve a particular problem with a more efficient and fast code, which consumes the minimum memory allocations.Nowadays, it has become a lucrative trend among students, who are trying to get placed into MNCs or big companies; this is because there are companies that keep looking for competitive coders, whenever they found a good one, with a high rating, they hire them directly. Example: Let’s assume that you do practice on CodeChef, and have 5 stars or more there. Then, some companies can directly call you for an interview.
Here are some general questions that arise in your mind when you hear about the term Competitive Coding or when anyone suggests you to practice this.

• Why your rating on such platforms impresses companies?
  The answer is, It’s not rating that attracts companies, it’s your efforts that made you achieve them. While doing Competitive Coding, some healthy habits have been developing inside you, and they are:
  ->The foremost, it establishes a rule into your mind, i.e., The harder you play, the better you get.
  ->You’ll get a habit of writing time-efficient codes.
  ->It enhances your debugging skills.
  ->Hard problems there, make you acquire the Divide and Conqueror method to solve big problems.
  ->Not only the Time Limit, but the Space Limit is also there, so you also learn how to code for a particular problem in less memory.


• What are the platforms where you can practice?
  There are many Competitive Programming platforms where you can practice. CodeChef, Codeforces, HackerEarth, HackerRank, and a lot more, are such platforms, where you should keep practicing. Questions found there, are highly focused on Time Complexity and Space Complexity, but, concerns about Dynamic Programming concepts as well.


• What is the requirement before starting Competitive Programming?
  But, before heading towards Competitive Coding, you must have a clear base in any programming language of your choice, such as C, C++, Java, Python, etc. After that, another requirement is to know Data Structures and Algorithms. If you have such skills, you are all set to start practicing at any of the Competitive Programming platforms, and, then, to increase your ratings there.

One of the most attractive part of Competitive Programming is that Your rating can make you eligible for a direct interview. It will also help you code efficiently while developing anything, i.e., it enhances your development skills as well. That was all about the competitive coding.
Keep learning, keep practicing.
Until then, Happy Coding.