Hi, > i'm looking for opinions on the "worth" of programming contests as a way of > judging the talent of potential software developers... > > any thoughts/pros/cons would be appreciated.. There are pros and cons to the system. Cons The biggest con is being assured that the work the person submits is actually theirs and not just ripped from somewhere else/been onto usenet to get help yada yada yada. There would then be the problem of a potential language barrier. Sure they may understand English, but do they understand what you're after! You have to have a fair method for marking. Is it a simple pass/fail, are marks awarded for cleverness and clarity of code, if they prefer C# or Java to C or C++ will they be marked down. If they're using a GUI, will you add or subtract if it's a simple system (like GTK) or a more complex one (Qt or wX)? If they supply something that works under VS.NET and not gcc or mono, will it be thrown out? Pros Usually a very quick turn around (you set the deadline) You get to set the parameters and the objectives to the competition so is very centred towards what you need. This is a double edged sword though. The decision on any aspect is yours Out of interest. Would the competition be open to just a select section of the community or would it be open to everyone? TTFN Paul -- "Logic, my dear Zoe, is merely the ability to be wrong with authority" - Dr Who
