F# and Google Code Jam

General
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Google Code Jam is an algorithmic problem-solving competition. From https://code.google.com/codejam/about

Code Jam calls on programmers around the world to put their skills to the test by solving multiple rounds of algorithmic puzzles. The online rounds conclude in the World Finals, which rotates globally. In addition to being challenging and fun, Code Jam problems can help you develop your coding and programming skills.

From 2008 to 2017 you could use any language to complete but alas this year Google changed the format and it’s no longer possible to use F#. This is a shame because F# rocks and is particularly well-suited for maths and algorithms.

Thus I’ve published an appeal to Google to bring back F# support for future contests. If you agree, please lend your support at Redirecting to Google Groups . I think it would be great for F# to be seen and attract new people to our community.

Thanks for reading

1 Like
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ps. You can still use F# to practice on past problems from previous years. These are fun high-quality problems, great exercises to work on. https://code.google.com/codejam/past-contests

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Great news! As of 2019, Google Code Jam supports F#! https://codingcompetitions.withgoogle.com/codejam/faq#platform

What languages and libraries are supported? What are their compilation and execution lines?

  • F#:
    • 4.0.0.4 (package: fsharp)
    • fsharpc --crossoptimize+ --nologo --tailcalls+ -O -o Solution.exe Solution.fs
    • mono Solution.exe
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That actually sucks somewhat, as the mono distribution is quite old (now almost 2 years old iirc). Specifically I mean the version of fsharp shipped with the mono distribution.