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Introducing Our First Computer Science Challenge!

In celebration of Pride Month, we are excited to introduce our first Computer Science Challenge in honor of Alan Turing, the brilliant gay English mathematician and crypto-analyst who is widely considered to be the “Father of Computer Science.” His birthday would have been on June 22, right in the middle of our challenge! So let’s celebrate.

For this challenge, there is only one simple writing prompt and one winner. Our winner will receive an exclusive DEV badge of honor and a gift from the DEV Shop. Participants with a valid submission will receive a completion badge.

Our Prompt

We are bringing back the One Byte Explainer!

Your challenge is to explain a computer science concept in 256 characters or less.

You can pick any concept (i.e. “Big O Notation, “Recursion” “P vs NP Problem”) and explain concisely what it is and why it’s relevant. You have 256 characters — less than a tweet — to get your point across, so the challenge is keeping it simple.

256 characters is ludicrously few for some of these concepts, that’s what makes it a challenge!

Would you rather be coding, with a chance to win cash prizes? Then check out the Twilio Challenge with a $5,000 prize pool!

How To Participate

In order to participate in the Computer Science Challenge, you will need to publish a post using the following submission template:

One Byte Explainer Submission Template

Please review our judging criteria, rules, guidelines, and FAQ page before submitting so you understand our participation guidelines and official contests rules such eligibility requirements.

Important Dates

  • June 12: Computer Science Challenge begins!
  • June 23: Submissions due at 11:59 PM PDT
  • June 25: Winner Announced

"Father of Computer Science"

Interested in learning more about Alan Turing? Check out these posts to learn about his accomplishments and contributions to Computer Science:

We hope you enjoy this writing challenge! Have questions? Ask them below.

Good luck and happy coding!

Top comments (23)

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jess profile image
Jess Lee

Can't wait to read what everyone comes up with!

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biliaminusemiu profile image
semiu adeyemi biliaminu

This is a cool challenge and I will love to participate in it. It helps me decipher a very big problem in less time

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shafayeat profile image
Shafayet Hossain

This sounds like an exciting challenge to honor Alan Turing's legacy! The One Byte Explainer task will really test our ability to distill complex computer science concepts into just 256 characters. Looking forward to participating and learning from everyone's entries.

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bablu000 profile image
LEELA BHARATH NANNAM

We have select one from these ( Big O Notation, “Recursion” “P vs NP Problem ) or anything else?

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kaamkiya profile image
Kaamkiya • Edited

No, these are just examples. You can do any computer science concept you want :)

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kalkwst profile image
Kostas Kalafatis

Nope, i.e actually stands for id est, which is Latin for “that is.” The abbreviation “e.g.” stands for the Latin phrase exempli gratia, meaning “for example.”

(And yes, i am fun at parties :P )

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kaamkiya profile image
Kaamkiya

Oh, I didn't know. I'll change that, thanks.

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muhammadanas8 profile image
MuhammadAnas8

I also need answer to this question

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ruttosa profile image
Ernesto

I think that you could choose any subject... You can check published entries page here and there is people who publish about other subjects than examples.
¡Good Luck!

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praneshchow profile image
Pranesh Chowdhury

Ahh, 256 characters though it will be too short. I'm waiting to see who the winner is.

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electroholmes profile image
ElectroHolmes

Posted my first-ever Post on Dev!

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belloshehu profile image
Bello Shehu

Congratulations! I just posted mine today

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fmalk profile image
Fernando Piancastelli

"Submission Template" button link has an extra "H" at the URL beginning that's messing its use.

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jennavisions profile image
Jenna

Hello,

Good luck to everyone participating in the Computer Science Challenge! 🌟💻🙂

Looking forward to the great ideas out there! 🌟💡

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hiacinto_jacinto_507eef8b profile image
Piter

his Computer Science Challenge sounds exciting! What is the specific writing prompt for the challenge, and are there any guidelines or themes we should follow in our submissions?

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cbid2 profile image
Christine Belzie

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