Since Shaddy did pretty well, I compared some of the source files I submitted to the ones that he submitted (I hope you don't mind, Shaddy - I only compared since you did a pretty good job).
Aside from simply being better at solving problems
, here are some differences I noticed, which maybe I should learn from to become a better programmer:
1.) My source code is much more verbose. Just comparing 'TidyNumbers', my source code is about twice as long. I have several more spaces, some unnecessary functions, and I use much longer variable names.
2.) Not a huge deal, but the logic I had for reading from and out to files was unnecessary. I like the idea of just using stdin and stdout - it cuts the program down to what's necessary to solve the problem.
3.) My approach to solving the problem appears to be less direct. I start typing out a high level outline of what I think needs to happen, and then when I get a little stuck, maybe I throw in a function call to solve that subproblem later. In contrast, it would be nicer to directly think of what needs to happen algorithmically right at the moment that I'm solving the problem.
Maybe it's easiest to say that I need to be more concise, and directly solve the problem. But perhaps this is just due to the fact that I didn't solve the problem entirely in my head before I sat down and started typing. It might come down to just being better at problem solving.
On the other hand, aiming to be more concise in presentation (shorter variable names, less spacing, etc.) is something that's easy to fix.
I'll try to work on these things for Round 1, assuming I'll be able to participate at the scheduled times. So far the best option seems to be Round 1A, although, it would be nicer if it were scheduled a couple of hours later.
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