Contest Environment

Please familiarize yourself with the contest environment by downloading the latest CD ISO image. If you have a suggestion to improve program development environment or contest operations, please let us know. We need your comments by 15 September 2004 to have a chance to incorporate them before the 2004 contest. Send your comments by e-mail to ser2004@cs.fit.edu.

GNU/Linux

The contest will be run on a GNU/Linux operating system. This makes it easy to practice with the actual contest environment. And it will make it faster and easier to ensure all programming teams will have the same environment. The world finals will also be conducted using a GNU/Linux operating system. We have prepared a contest CD based on the 10 May 2004 release of Knoppix 3.4. You can explore the contest environment by simply booting from the CD. When you exit the system and remove the CD, the computer is unchanged. Also, you can install the system from the CD to an Intel-compatible computer in a few minutes. The CD contains a lot of freely available software useful for developing Java and C++ programs.

At the contest each team must supply their own computer. We will install the system on the computer, thus destroying the pre-existing operating system and any data on it. Bear this in mind when you choose a computer to bring. Please install the system on the computer you intend to bring to ensure that the contest environment works properly on your hardware. The computer hardware required for the contest is as follows:

Intel-compatible CPU (i486 or later)
at least 128 MB of RAM
IDE hard drive (currently no support for SCSI), at least 3.5GB
bootable IDE CD-ROM drive (currently no support for USB or Firewire)
standard SVGA-compatible graphics card
serial or PS/2 standard mouse or IMPS/2-compatible USB-mouse
10/100 baseT network interface card
floppy drive (in case of network failure)

Be sure to check out your hardware with the contest system. Computers come with wide variation of components and not all are supported by the contest environment. Make sure networking works.

Please download and test the contest CD. A CD ISO image is available. Simply burn the image to a CD.

Languages

C, GNU gcc

      /usr/bin/gcc --version
      gcc (GCC) 3.3.4 (Debian 1:3.3.4-3)

C++, GNU g++

      /usr/bin/g++ --version
      g++ (GCC) 3.3.4 (Debian 1:3.3.4-3)

API documentation (Local CD, Extern WWW)

Java, Sun Microsystem's Java 2 Standard Development Kit (SDK) version 1.4.2
```
      /usr/java/bin/java -version
      java version "1.4.2_04"
      
```
API documentation (Local CD, Extern WWW)

Pascal, Free Pascal

/usr/bin/fpc -V Free Pascal Compiler version 1.0.10 [2004/02/14] for i386

Development Tools

Printing

The printing of program listings will be supported at the programming contest. Listings will be delivered to the teams. It is not possible to ensure that receiving printouts will consistently be fast. Please plan accordingly. Teams may not bring and use their own printers during the contest.

To print a file, type

pcpr filename

at the command line. Printing any other way is not supported.

By the way, printing is adminstered by CUPS.

CUPS administration (http://localhost:631)

Contest Administration

Submiting and judging problem solutions will be performed using PC². Version 8.5d is installed on the contest CD and has local docucmentation. In particular, instructions for use of PC² by a team is available on the WWW and is installed locally on the contest CD.