5 ms·

Anyone else think this year has been a bit tame so far? Last time i did this was back in 2019 and it was very challenging/fun.

smcl 5y ago
I recently went back and completed 2016 (from scratch), 2017 (was half-done) and 2018 (couple of missing problems). I think it’s largely on par with those so far - the first 10 are always quite straight-forward. It’s around day 15 that you start encountering the sort of problems that require a bit more thought.
- aero-glide2 5y ago
  You should try 2019!
  - smcl 5y ago
    To be clear that was just filling a couple of gaps :) Ihave also done 2019 and 2020. 2019 has a couple of tough ones but only starting in the teens iirc. I understand some people found IntCode to be tough and there were a couple of IntCode ones early-ish, but I didn't find them that bad really.
Jtsummers 5y ago
It has been easier. Which means I get to bed at a sane time. But it's also letting some of my non-programmer (or novice programmer) friends keep up better and participate without as much frustration (as 2019, half those problems were barred to them because they couldn't figure out the IntCode stuff).
airstrike 5y ago
My view is whether it's tame or not often depends on the tool you pick for the job. Picking something way out of your comfort zone will force you to learn a ton as you go along.
- pjm331 5y ago
  Agreed - I decided to try learning Emacs Lisp to solve this years problems and I have been struggling on problems I know I could have solved in minutes with a more familiar language - but it makes finally succeeding that much sweeter
- jeltz 5y ago
  Probably. Last year I picked Zig and this year I picked Crystal and Crystal certainly is a lot easier to use for AoC for someone who is totally new to the language.
- CraigJPerry 5y ago
  Ha! I’m doing it in kdb+/q this year. I can feel that statement in my bones.
- 63 5y ago
  I suppose maybe I should switch tools then. I started with using my favorite language on it this year because I struggled in the past (IntCode). This year everything seems easy though. Days 6 and 7 were the first where the answer wasn't immediately obvious but even then the solution is just "use this very basic data structure" or "use this formula that everyone knows." It has at least been nice checking out the Reddit every night and seeing everyone else's code and micro optimizations I missed or different paradigms.
anilakar 5y ago
This is the first year I'm not being burnt out by AoC. Everyone I know doing the puzzles has so far either been a 10 % rockstar developer or had enough free time due to unemployment, illness or for some other reason. This year they seem to cater to us mortals, too...
- kubanczyk 5y ago
  The phrase "10% rockstar developer" might be accidental but I'm stealing it anyway.
nikanj 5y ago
I much prefer it this way. I want to solve a small puzzle before work, not grind goblin combat details (2018-15 ugh) for the whole evening. No shortage of tougher puzzles out there for people who want flex their CS PhD

smcl 5y ago

I recently went back and completed 2016 (from scratch), 2017 (was half-done) and 2018 (couple of missing problems). I think it’s largely on par with those so far - the first 10 are always quite straight-forward. It’s around day 15 that you start encountering the sort of problems that require a bit more thought.

aero-glide2 5y ago
You should try 2019!
- smcl 5y ago
  To be clear that was just filling a couple of gaps :) Ihave also done 2019 and 2020. 2019 has a couple of tough ones but only starting in the teens iirc. I understand some people found IntCode to be tough and there were a couple of IntCode ones early-ish, but I didn't find them that bad really.

Jtsummers 5y ago

It has been easier. Which means I get to bed at a sane time. But it's also letting some of my non-programmer (or novice programmer) friends keep up better and participate without as much frustration (as 2019, half those problems were barred to them because they couldn't figure out the IntCode stuff).

airstrike 5y ago

My view is whether it's tame or not often depends on the tool you pick for the job. Picking something way out of your comfort zone will force you to learn a ton as you go along.

pjm331 5y ago
Agreed - I decided to try learning Emacs Lisp to solve this years problems and I have been struggling on problems I know I could have solved in minutes with a more familiar language - but it makes finally succeeding that much sweeter
jeltz 5y ago
Probably. Last year I picked Zig and this year I picked Crystal and Crystal certainly is a lot easier to use for AoC for someone who is totally new to the language.
CraigJPerry 5y ago
Ha! I’m doing it in kdb+/q this year. I can feel that statement in my bones.
63 5y ago
I suppose maybe I should switch tools then. I started with using my favorite language on it this year because I struggled in the past (IntCode). This year everything seems easy though. Days 6 and 7 were the first where the answer wasn't immediately obvious but even then the solution is just "use this very basic data structure" or "use this formula that everyone knows." It has at least been nice checking out the Reddit every night and seeing everyone else's code and micro optimizations I missed or different paradigms.

anilakar 5y ago

This is the first year I'm not being burnt out by AoC. Everyone I know doing the puzzles has so far either been a 10 % rockstar developer or had enough free time due to unemployment, illness or for some other reason. This year they seem to cater to us mortals, too...

kubanczyk 5y ago
The phrase "10% rockstar developer" might be accidental but I'm stealing it anyway.

nikanj 5y ago

I much prefer it this way. I want to solve a small puzzle before work, not grind goblin combat details (2018-15 ugh) for the whole evening. No shortage of tougher puzzles out there for people who want flex their CS PhD