It is that time of year again: Advent of Code. 'Tis the Season. If you're not familiar with Advent of Code, please read their about section which is a great summary. I love Advent of Code (AoC) and am a huge proponent of it. I do it each year and I encourage my friends and colleagues to also participate. Let me try to sell you on participating in AoC this year.
Let's dive right into it. Advent of Code is free and runs on a donation model. If you enjoy it regularly and have the financial means I encourage you to donate, but there is no pressure and it is free for all participates. Entry is extremely low stakes, so there is no harm in signing up and doing the first day.
This is an awesome feature of AoC. Most algorithm questions are language specific but AoC allows for participants to work in any language of their choosing. This means you can try a new language or work in a language that you don't get to code in regularly. I personally like to do it in Ruby to ensure I don't lose those skills from my past life of working at a Rails shop.
Loneliness is at epidemic levels and it seems that it is harder than ever to find positive communities on the internet. I thoroughly enjoy following the AoC community. In particular, their reddit group is fantastic. Their global leader board is a window into competitive programming and the ease to create a personal leader board with my coworkers has allowed me to talk and share code with coworkers that I don't get to program with regularly. I also look forward to seeing the memes each year!
Algorithms get a terrible reputation for their use in interviewing and there are many fair reasons for that. Regardless, I think practicing algorithms is similar to an athlete doing drills and does has a positive impact on your overall programming skills. I find doing algorithm work to be a drag but AoC is a great excuse for me to roll up my sleeves and brush up on my algorithm chops.
I like the calendar style of AoC and making time each day to participate. I think coding everyday is a great habit and in my professional life I strive to deliver a pull request everyday. AoC encourages making coding a daily habit and this helps me start the new year off on the right foot.
I hope this is the year you consider participating in Advent of Code!