Table of Contents
Introduction
Google is an innovative company, solving daily life problems and giving unique solutions. Google HashCode is a competition where Google tests the practical daily-life problem-solving knowledge and skills of programming students and professionals.
It is a team-based competition, which means you’ll have to work and collaborate with other programmers and coders to ace in this competition. You may want to brush up on your existing knowledge and skills before taking part in the Google HashCode Competition as many experienced and expert professionals participate in it.
You can find many free and useful courses on programming languages on websites like Coding Ninjas that will help you excel in this competition.
Eligibility Criteria
This year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Google HashCode competition has gone virtual. There will be an Online Qualifications round first and only the top teams selected after this qualification round will be invited to participate in the virtual World Finals.
To participate in the Online Qualifications round, a participant must be at least 16 years of age, but the eligibility criteria for the World Final in terms of age are different. For the Google HashCode World Finals, the participant must have attained the age of a minimum of 18 years, plus they also should have attained the age of maturity in their country.
Exam Pattern
It is important to understand the exam pattern before going for an exam. Once you’ve registered for the Google HashCode competition online, you’ll receive access to the Judge System where you can join a hub, make a team, and practice and compete.
Your team will have to solve a programming problem within a given timeframe of four hours to pass the Online Qualifications. After you’ve succeeded in this round, you’ll appear for the virtual World Final where you’ll have to solve another optimisation problem as your new challenge and compete with the top teams.
Previously Asked Questions
Here are some of the previously asked questions in the Google HashCode Competition which will help you understand the level of competition and prepare better.
2020 World Final– The final problem in the 2020 Google HashCode was related to the assembly of a smartphone. The description of various robotic arms and their positions were provided in the problem and the participants had to create a plan for the use of robotic arms to build the smartphone.
2018 World Final– A set of building projects was given to the participants, and the candidates had to make an efficient plan and decide which building project should be executed and where in order to maximise the utility for the residents and provide maximum residential capacity as well.
2017 World Final– A building plan was given to the contestants and they had to decide where to put the wireless routers and how to connect them to the fibre backbone to minimise costs and also maximise coverage at the same time.
2015 World Final– The information of wind data at different altitudes was provided to the candidates and as per the given information they had to arrange a fleet of balloons at a planned altitude so that Internet coverage is available in select locations.
You can find some free, useful, and accessible courses on various platforms online like Coding Ninjas to help you solve these problems better and prepare for the final rounds of the Google HashCode 2021.
Prerequisites (Languages) for Google HashCode
There is no specific programming language requirement for this competition. You can compete if you’re familiar with any of the programming or coding languages such as C++, JAVA, Python, or any other coding language. You can choose your preferred language in which you would like to solve the optimised problem. It is better if you use some online courses to advance your knowledge and give yourself an edge in the competition.
How to Register for Google HashCode?
Whether you’re just a beginner in programming languages or an expert professional, you should consider participating in the Google HashCode to showcase your programming skills and also have some fun. If you are wondering, ‘How to register, then it is quite simple. To register you’ll just have to enter the necessary details and make an account on the google coding competitions page. And voila! You’re good to go.
Preparation Tips
Some of the preparation tips that can help you are:
- Thorough knowledge of any programming language, especially the ones you intend to use to win the competition.
- To prepare for this competition you may take up some courses, like the Competitive Programming Course, and sharpen your skills to compete with the best in the field.
- You can also look and try to solve the problems from past editions of the competitions to give you a better overview of the competition.
- Networking is important between teammates. You can enter into healthy competitions with your teammates to enhance your programming skills.
- Simplify your approach and try to find simple ways to solve problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Google HashCode Competition 2021 has no registration fee.
To compete in the Google HashCode 2021, you must have two to four teammates from the Judge System. Each teammate must be individually registered for HashCode. To find teammates, you can join the Facebook group for HashCode.
You’ll be registered for the Judge System soon after (within 24 hours) registering for HashCode. You’ll have to log in to the Judge System using the same credentials and here you’ll be able to form a team for the competition, access different problem statements, and submit your solutions to them.
To get the title of Google Code Jam, you’ll have to participate and win the Code Jam competition by solving programming and coding algorithmic puzzles.
Google HashCode is not an easy competition but it is also not that hard if you are familiar with the programming language you’ve chosen and can come up with an efficient solution to problems within a small window.
Virtual hubs are meetups organised by the participants so that the participants of the same colleges, universities, offices, can meet up virtually and compete as one team for the Online Qualifications.
The practice problem can be downloaded from the Judge System as a PDF.
The participant teams can choose as many and any programming languages and tools as they want. The selection totally depends upon the participant.
Key Takeaways
There are many programming and coding languages present and there are as many programming students and professionals as well. To know if you stand out or excel at your subject or job, a mere college examination is not sufficient as it is limited to a number of people.
The Google HashCode helps one compete with the best professionals in the field and tests if they really have what it takes to be an expert programmer who can solve practical engineering problems. To ace this examination, you may want to take some courses in programming languages to brush up on your skills.
