epsilon_573's blog

The thrill of CP
By epsilon_573, history, 3 years ago, In English

There have been moments when I just submit my solutions during the last minutes of the contest. But today was one of the best adrenaline rushes I have had while giving a contest. I didn't really like today's problem D because it was just "guessy", so I was struggling to find some pattern that worked. I thought of a solution in the last minutes and with my heart rushing went to coding it. My hands were trembling and I was struggling to implement the solution as my thoughts were all jumbled up. At around 1 minute, I took a look at the timer and the pressure was exhilarating. With just 15-20 seconds left, I finished the implementation and tested the samples. At around 11 secs, I opened the browser and clicked on the 'Submit Code' button. And at almost 1 sec, I submitted my solution. This was a great feeling, but I still hate the problem. :)

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3 years ago, # |
← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +75 Vote: I do not like it

Similar happened with me too, but unfortunately due to trembling it became 02:00:01 T_T

The thrill of CP turned into depression of CP

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +13 Vote: I do not like it

    Before success comes failure, so keep at it.

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      3 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

      Yes! Hope I make it 01:59:59 next time :P
      But whether or not you like problem D, you must agree you are the luckiest person ever

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      3 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +1 Vote: I do not like it

      Sometimes after failure comes failure.

      Am I really the unluckiest coder ever?

      Solved C literally 1 minute after contest ended T_T

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        3 years ago, # ^ |
        ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

        sorry, something similar happened with me on problem B (Edit: nvm, my algo was incorrect)

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +43 Vote: I do not like it

Plot twist: epsilon_573 deliberately made the submission at 01:59:59 so that he can brag now :)

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +9 Vote: I do not like it

    nah man I would rather submit early, reach 2100 and brag about that.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

same energy

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +5 Vote: I do not like it

Your time of submission is literally $$$02:00 - \epsilon $$$.

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3 years ago, # |
← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +34 Vote: I do not like it

123-Capture

this was in a contest yesterday on one of the private groups.

Man, my face turned red, I don't take a breath, standing up to code faster. I think I reached 200 wpm while I was writing the code. I was sweating like I am under the sun directly although there is a fan next to me.

I compiled the code and there is still one minute! good? yup but if my code compiles and runs. My code gives a lot of compilation errors I was fixing each one and when it compiles and runs I submit it without trying the samples, and then all of sudden the contest ended without knowing the verdict.

I was refreshing the page 200 times in the second XD until I found it accepted. the feeling in that time was like. ooooooof i made it!

Note: the contest ends 21:30 obviously XD

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +21 Vote: I do not like it

I made the first submission 120122150 for this problem 1539D - PriceFixed less than a minute before the end of the round and it passed pretests, imagine my joy at that moment!

After an hour and a half, I saw that it had not passed the system tests just because i made a little mistake with indexes in two-pointers solution...

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +17 Vote: I do not like it

Good old CP days

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +65 Vote: I do not like it

For what it's worth, there's a fairly straightforward way to get around many problems like this one without simply guessing correctly: write a brute force solution and spot the pattern. I figured out the pattern for this problem in under five minutes by writing a program that, given $$$N$$$ and $$$K$$$, outputs the lexicographically minimal string of length $$$N$$$ that satisfies the given condition and uses only the first $$$K$$$ characters. (The constraint on $$$K$$$ was included to prevent the program from, for example, outputting abcde for $$$N = 5$$$, which obviously would have been impossible to extend to larger $$$N$$$.) If you're tired of scrambling around blindly on open-ended constructive problems, writing a brute force is generally a good way to start.

Congrats on the 1:59:59 solve, though!

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +30 Vote: I do not like it

    I usually write brute force solutions if I am stuck. I wrote one for C today, suspecting of some pattern. But it didn't just cross my mind to try it for D. And thanks for the nice advise + the extra $$$K$$$ parameter hack. Will surely come in handy during some future rounds.

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

Excellent job! Another example why you shouldn’t give up and keep trying literally until the last second of the round

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3 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

Guessy...

Let first letter be $$$x$$$

Next must be different, let it $$$y$$$

Next must be not $$$x$$$ and not $$$y$$$, so... let it $$$z$$$

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