The Great Pirate Challenge [for extra credits] is now ONLINE!

Good day, fellow Pirates!

Here is what we all have been waiting for: the GREAT PIRATE CHALLENGE.

This is your opportunity to earn some sweet extra credits to offset one of your midterm scores. So follow the wind and set your sails on the chase for shiny treasures and crates full of extra    credits.

Overview

The problem to solve is the same exact problem as in HW7, but there are a few differences. 1. There are 6 testcases to pass, with varying difficulty levels;

2. You are not allowed to see any output of your run, albeit the system will tell you if there are runtime or timeout issues;

3. You have 70 seconds to solve each of the testcases;

4. There is no late deadline, but the ranking is provided by the score;

5. The score is computed in a mysterious way but you are welcome to reverse-engineer how to maximize it;

6. *Any* method to find the solution to the testcases is accepted, even if that means subverting the very system meant to evaluate your submissions. You are a pirate, after all.

Entering the challenge

To participate, go to:CodeBuddy - GREAT PIRATE CHALLENGE

Your code is automatically run inside the CodeBuddy system you are already familiar with, and you will be able to see the live outcome of the runs.

The system will assign a score to your code --- see the rightmost column on the CodeBuddy page. The formula for the score calculation depends on the CPU utilization, memory, and runtime of your code. You are welcome to reverse-engineer and game the formula for your profits. But I ain't giving you the formula.

What code should you use

For this challenge, you are competing to provide the best solution for the same exact problem as HW7, maybe by implementing the idea you provided in your HW7-EVAL in Part (d).

The test cases are different from anything you have seen before, though. Some say they are more challenging overall, but who believes these rumors, amirite?

So the first thing you want to try is to submit the same exact code you submitted for HW7 and see what score you get.

You can then try to improve your score against your colleagues by further optimizing your algorithm/libraries/queue scheduler/approach to multuthreading.

Because it would be too easy to cheat if you are allowed to see the output of your code, in this challenge, you are only allowed to see the output stats of your code. But you can try to

"pirate" the system in a different way if you want. You will not be penalized for not following the "canonical" way of finding the treasure.

Extra credits assignment

Consider this challenge as a way to make up for a sub-optimal performance in either Midterm 1 or 2.

The way this challenge is going to work is the following:

1. Extra credits are given to the top 15 students who do not already get an A via the typical

route. For instance, suppose the top 15 is composed of Stud. 1, 2, ..., 15. And suppose Stud. 2 is already getting an A after the final. Then Stud. 2 will not get the additional extra credits from  the challenge and Stud. 16 will enter the top-15. And so on.

2. The extra credits will be applied to the (weighted) total Midterm 1 and Midterm 2. They cannot be applied to the final or to HWs. To compute the final grade with the extra credits, suppose you  sum up the score from your Midterm 1 and 2 to the extra credits. That value will be maxed out at 200, then normalized to 30 because Midterm 1 + Midterm 2 are worth 40% of the final grade.

3. The number of credits you get is proportional to how high you are in the top 15. If you are in the first spot, you get 20 points, 19 if you are second, ..., and 6 if you are 15th.

4. Because the number of extra credits can only be determined after the grades for the final are out, you have to be patient before you can know how many credits you got. Once the final assignment is known, I will post the final anonymized ranking on Piazza.

Timeline

The challenge starts today! You can already submit your code and get your score.

We will run the challenge until Fall 2023's last day of classes, i.e., Tue, Dec 12 at 11.59 pm.

Sample input files

Use the sample client scripts in HW7 EVAL if you want to test and optimize your code locally! Keep in mind that since there are 6 test cases and each is given 70 seconds to run, a non-optimized submission might hog CodeBuddy for 7 minutes!