Dear Participants,

Welcome to Week 2 of the challenge! After mastering number-based logic in Week 1, it’s time to shift your focus to string manipulation and pattern recognition. This week’s problems are designed to sharpen your understanding of how to efficiently work with characters and sequences.

Problem Topics:

• Traversing and analyzing digit sequences

• Working with binary strings and alternating patterns

• Identifying and comparing palindromic substrings

What to Expect:

• Challenges that test your grasp of string-based algorithms

• A focus on identifying patterns, transformations, and edge cases

• The need for precise, optimized implementations that handle a variety of input formats

Why Participate?
String problems are common across interviews, online judges, and competitive contests. This week gives you the opportunity to build confidence in handling character-based data, improve your logical reasoning, and continue climbing the leaderboard.

We’re excited to see your approaches and creativity in tackling these problems.

Best Regards,
Team A*

Week 1: Beginner's Coding Challenge

Dear Participants,

Welcome to Week 1 of the challenge. Now that we have completed the warm-up phase, it is time to focus on core problem-solving techniques. This week's contest will emphasize numerical computations and iterative processes, helping you build a strong foundation for more advanced challenges ahead.

Problem Topics:

• Number systems and base conversions

• Properties of digit sums and numerical transformations

• Iterative mathematical operations and optimizations

What to Expect:

• Problems that require careful handling of numbers and arithmetic operations

• A strong emphasis on efficient implementations to stay within time limits

• An opportunity to refine your mathematical reasoning and algorithmic thinking

Why Participate?

This contest provides a great opportunity to sharpen your problem-solving skills while becoming familiar with competitive programming techniques. Whether you are aiming for the leaderboard or simply challenging yourself to improve, this is the perfect time to put your skills to the test.

We look forward to your participation and wish you the best of luck.

Best Regards,

Team A*

Dear Participants,

We’re excited to announce the start of Week 0 of the challenge! 🎉

This week is a warm-up round designed to test our system’s capacity and your readiness for the upcoming weeks. The problem statements will cover basic topics like Input/Output operations, loops, arrays, simple math, and more, allowing you to get familiar with the platform while we ensure everything is running smoothly.

What to Expect:

• Simple yet engaging problems to help you warm up.
• Multiple problem topics, including conditionals, loops, arrays, and basic data structures.
• A chance to ensure your coding setup is in sync with our submission system.

Remember, this is your chance to get comfortable with the platform and set the stage for the more challenging problems coming soon. 💪

Good luck, and we’re excited to see your progress!

Best Regards,
Om Mishra

To maintain the integrity and fairness of our biweekly A* programming competitions, we have established the following guidelines regarding cheating. Any violation of these rules will result in immediate disqualification and may impact leaderboard standings and cash prizes.

Cheating Violations:

1. Collaboration in Groups:

   • Competitions are individual efforts. Collaborating or working in groups to solve problems is strictly prohibited.
   • Sharing problem statements, solutions, or any form of code with others during the contest is considered cheating.

2. Code Similarity:

   • If two or more participants submit matching or highly similar code, and the match is not found publicly before the competition, this will be treated as evidence of cheating.
   • Tools will be used to detect similarity in code submissions, and matches will be flagged for review.

3. Use of AI:

   • The misuse of AI-based tools to generate solutions or help diagnose errors is a violation. Refer to the AI Use Policy for detailed guidelines on permitted and prohibited AI usage.
   • Any submissions found to have been generated or influenced by AI beyond allowed uses will be treated as cheating.

4. External Help:

   • Receiving external assistance from people not participating in the competition or using unauthorized resources is not allowed. This includes tutors, friends, or any third-party help during the contest.

5. Plagiarism:

   • Copying or using code from online sources, repositories, or any publicly available solution (unless specifically permitted) is a violation.
   • Posting the contest problems online or seeking help from external forums or websites during the competition will also be considered cheating.

Consequences of Cheating:

• Disqualification: Any participant found violating the rules will be disqualified from the current competition and may face a ban from future contests.
• Leaderboard and Prizes: Cheating can result in a retraction of cash prizes and removal from the leaderboard rankings. Post-contest analysis will ensure that results are adjusted if violations are discovered.
   

We are committed to maintaining a fair competitive environment and will take strict actions against any form of cheating.

In light of the rapid progress in AI technologies, we are implementing clear guidelines for the use of AI during our biweekly A* programming competitions. While AI is valuable for learning, its use in live contests must be restricted to ensure fairness.

Application of the Rule:

This rule applies to all participants in the biweekly A* programming competitions. There is no distinction between rated or unrated rounds; the policy applies universally in every competition round.

Permitted AI Use:

• Problem Translation: Participants may use AI tools to translate problem statements. However, only direct translations are allowed, and AI must not interpret or summarize the statement.
• Code Completion Tools: AI tools like Copilot may be used for minor coding assistance, such as syntax suggestions. However, the core logic or solution algorithms must be developed independently by the participant.

Prohibited AI Use:

• Solution Generation: Inputting any part of the problem statement into AI to generate code, solutions, or explanations is strictly forbidden.
• Error Troubleshooting: AI tools cannot be used to diagnose or fix errors based on system feedback (e.g., runtime errors or wrong outputs).
• Substitute Reasoning: Relying on AI to build the core logic or decision-making process in solving the problem is not allowed.

Guidelines for Proper Use:

• Participants may use AI to write simple boilerplate code (e.g., handling input/output functions), but not to generate the main algorithm or solution.
• If there is any uncertainty about the correct use of AI tools, participants should consult the organizers to avoid policy violations.

Cheating Detection:

We will continue using methods to detect potential cheating, including AI-assisted tools that compare submissions. If two participants’ codes match and the match is not publicly available before the competition, it will be considered evidence of cheating. Violations will be handled accordingly.

Cash Prizes and Leaderboard:

Cash prizes and leaderboard rankings will be determined based on submission accuracy and adherence to the AI use policy. If AI policy violations are detected, prizes may be withdrawn, and leaderboard standings will be adjusted.