Imagine Cup - Algorithm

Hi all. As told before Algorithm category in imagine cup invites all the programming enthusiasts from across the world to battle for the top prize of 8000$! First i'l introduce you to the format of the competition.

This competition has 3 rounds.

Round 1:- It is an online event which is open to all. It has 4 matches in it out of which 2 are over and third is underway. Fourth match starts on 20th January. From each match top 50 participants qualify for the Round 2. So a total of 200 participants qualify for the round 2. Each match lasts for 2 weeks and what happens in it i'l tell you in a little while.

Round 2:- Here the 200 qualifiers battle it out for another online round. Here a problem is given which needs an efficient algorithm to be developed. It should be in such a way that it should be fast and should be within the memory limits. From here top 6 people get qualified for the World Finals which happens in France this year.

Round 3:- It'd be an ultimate battle with top 6 trying to solve 9 problems in a 24-hour shootout. The fastest solver wins the prize! And world acclaimed fame and chance to work with Microsoft Itself..

Ain't it great.. ?

Register today on http://www.imaginecup.com/, all you need is a Live.com or Hotmail account..Do it faast!

!Imagine Cup!

Let me introduce you a very interesting competition by my favourite company Microsoft. It's called Imagine Cup. It is a challenge based on a theme and spread across 9 categories to choose from. The Idea is simple.. If you can innovate, dream and imagine then you can conquer the world! All students across the world can be a part of the competition. The 9 categories are as follows:-

Algorithm
Project-Hoshimi
Software Design
IT Challenge
Embedded Design
Interface Design
Game Development
Short Film
Photography

You can find out more on www.imaginecup.com

You' have to have knowledge of various Microsoft Technologies like Visual Studio,Visual Basic, C#, .NET Platform, Windows Server Family, Expression Studio and Silverlight. Not all are needed for all categories each category has it's own specific requriements.

I'd like to speak about one category which i've been working on The Algorithm Category.