Acing the USACO Bronze Competition MEAP V01 1st Edition by Zachi Baharav ISBN 9781633438118 1633438112

The USACO competition is the gateway to competitive programming for high school students in the USA, and it has gained popularity in recent years. USACO Bronze questions test your ability to solve problems and your competency in converting algorithms into code. Though no special algorithmic knowledge is required at the Bronze level, the questions often look tricky and extremely hard to the uninitiated. But this book will demystify those questions. Together, we’ll walk through typical problems at the Bronze level carving a path toward an algorithm, then a code, and ultimately, a solution.Acing the USACO Bronze Competition shows you how to succeed in the fast and furious world of competitive programming. It demystifies the USACO and programming competitions, and teaches you to find the joy in competition that will take you all the way to the top.The book will help you build exactly the skills you need to pass the Bronze qualification. Each problem is sketched out with entertaining and informative illustrations so they’ll stick with you in the competitive USACO environment. You’ll learn multiple ways to solve any problem the competition throws at you. Most importantly, you’ll learn what not to do: how to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes that trip up lesser programmers. You’ll quickly become ready to earn your Bronze badge, move on to succeeding at Silver, and even try your luck at wider competitions. In Acing the USACO Bronze Competition, you’ll learn how to:• Unpack and solve problems• Visualize problems to find insights and solutions• Recognize and navigate problems with searching, modeling, and geometry• Handle problems with strings as collections of characters and as labels• Get unstuck with debugging and exploring algorithms• Code in the style and form appropriate for competitive programming• Expand your skills for more advanced coding competitions