wow, that last one is a doozie, too... Trying to reform the paper... that is asking a lot, I think.

I always mix up the meanings of odd and even so I had to answer problem 2 twice >:(

Do I want to look? Will I get any work done the rest of the day if I do? Will I get any work done even if I don't? :-)

I've been doing some of the early ones, and making them much harder for myself trying to do them in php. Sure the language is very simple to use, but for computational problems? not so great!

OK, I'm in trouble. Problem 1 took all of 30 seconds to deduce the answer and maybe another 2 minutes to key a simple equation into Excel to compute it for me. I'm going to wind up doing this the rest of the afternoon. Damn it, figle. If I lose my job, it's your fault! :-)

Problem one was so easy I didn't need a program. It was doable with a calculator with a memory function on it.

True, but its still pretty neat to brute force by script
sum=0;
for(x=0;x<1000;x++) if (x%5==0||x%3==0) sum+=x;
print sum;

There are some much more nasty ones, but tbh I agree, the first few at least are little more than brainteasers. Have a look at the posted solutions though - some lovely choices of language in there!

I also did it in Excel, mostly because I don't know any programming language :O

@akilies: keep in mind that the problems are arranged in chronological order (not order of difficulty). That problem (#338) was only posted yesterday. Comparatively, the previous problem (#337) has been solved by fewer people/day.

I know :)

figle, be a man and use FORTRAN.

Working out Project Euler problems is a great way to learn a programming language though, particularly it's computational aspects, and pick up some neat math tricks.

Programming Praxis is a blog that provides a nice set of programming challenges. The problems are much more general than computation. It does not track your progress, however, you can post and discuss solutions coded in any language.

http://programmingpraxis.com/


The Python challenge (which really could be attacked with any programming language) is another neat site for learning a programming language

http://www.pythonchallenge.com/

However, the challenges have to be solved in a linear fashion. It's arranged like a "notpron"-style puzzle although the challenge mainly lies in writing the code to do what you need to do since figuring out the clues is simpler.


By the way, notpron is a legendary and epic web riddle/challenge, but it's mainly about figuring out clues in a very esoteric manner to advance through many stages.

http://www.deathball.net/notpron/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notpron

Notpron has spawned a number of imitators. They are too many to list here, but you can probably find a list of web riddles via google.

@abge: FORTRAN? Be a man and use brainfuck (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck)

hahah That's cool; it's like a really bad assembler language.

I'm just doing them in C#. I'm working the palindromic number now (problem 4)

^^ Can also do that one with pen/paper, but I reckon it was quicker to brute force it (as in total time from start to answer, not just runtime).

There are solutions to quite a few of those puzzles in J, which looks frighteningly strange. Then as you'd have guessed lots of assembler.

Use whichever language that gets the drop done the easiest.

And if you don't have a proper environment set up
http://ideone.com/
http://codepad.org/
http://pastebin.me/

It's amazing how well C# compiles down and executes in the .Net runtime.

How the hell did I say "drop" when I meant "job"?

@Draug: have you checked out my other suggestions yet?
http://programmingpraxis.com/
http://www.pythonchallenge.com/
http://www.deathball.net/notpron/

No, at work and figured two distraction today was enough. I'll check them out one evening this week (not tonight, though, as it is Chuck night!)

:O End of the series :O
Keep meaning to find out if its been renewed or not (think it will for a half series)

According to reports, NBC is in final negotiations that will bring it back for at least a partial Season. To think it almost got cancelled once...

So, anyone here watch the Smallville series finale (what we call a show whereas what you Brits call a series, we call a season)?

I guess it's official... From Entertainment Weekly:

NBC’s Chuck has been renewed for a fifth season. Yay!

But: This is will be the final season of Chuck.

The perpetual bubbliest of the broadcast bubble shows has once again pulled out a victory, securing a fifth round that will air on NBC next season. The network has ordered 13 episodes for Warner Bros. The “final season” part is a bummer, but at least the show will get an ending, which is something most serialized dramas on TV never get.

Creator Josh Schwartz tweeted: “What’s the square root of 25?” (playing off, of course, Ashton Kutcher’s tweet about joining Two and a Half Men). Then he added: The passion of the CHUCK fans has been heard again… We are all truly lucky to have the greatest fan base on tv. Thank you. … I will have more details soon… Very happy for the cast and crew.”
For awhile there, things looked possibly bleak for our heroes. New NBC chief Robert Greenblatt took the reins and inherited a new crop of pilots to shape into his own hits, while at the same time Chuck was dipping in the rating — the show averaged 5.6 million viewers and a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 this season. But the show has a devoted following and was often NBC’s highest-rated series on Monday nights and insiders were confident the show would return once more.

Looking at ratings, there is no way on earth Chuck deserves another series. However, its awesome, so who am I to complain.

Will be nice to get another 'propper' series - the shows been mucked around for the last two with the extensions. I think this one would have been really good but for the 3rd quarter, which I was because of the 'extra' episodes.

disclaimer: this is all based on hearsay from American friends, since as a British citizen there is of course no way I could have seen any of series 4 :)

sexy!

Oh, last night's season finale was awesome! And I think you can watch Chuck at NBC.com, figle. So go catch season 4 online. Oh and, it's a US show so stop saying series, damn it! After all, I have the courtesy to call the yearly divisions "series" when referring to Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Top Gear.:-)

@Ora - was that at PE? I've spent waaay too long in the last day. Turns out you can't submit more than 24 solutions with 24 hours (it won't let you).

@Draug - Not if you're overseas, although quite how that could be monitered if you used a proxy I don't know (http://www.nbc.com/chuck/video/chuck-vs-the-cliffhanger/1327691/)
Looking forward to watching it soon though, its a great show. chuck&pancakes - the perfect Tuesday evening (I decided every Tuesday should be shrove tuesday)

yes, at PE. i haven't had a chance to start playing... but as soon as i get out of bed and finish all 12 projects i've promised myself...