ACM Contest Tips

How do I become good at these contests?

A few things help:

• Have a favourite programming language that you know very well. C++ and Java are both used at the practice sessions.
   
• Be familiar with commonly used algorithms and data structures (these are typically covered in second- and third-year courses).
   
• Enjoy programming. If you're doing this for fun, it'll motivate you to practice enough that performance will improve with time.
   
• Practice a lot. Debugging, in particular, is something that is usually only improved through experience.

Any specific suggestions?

Yes, plenty:
Know about the following concepts, as you'll end up using them:

• arrays
• pointers ("references" in Java)
• linked lists
• binary trees
• hashes
• graphs
• recursion
• induction
• sorting algorithms (mostly so you know what ones _not_ to use)
• search algorithms
• dynamic programming