AdaCore encourages Ada, Spark for Advent of Code

AdaCore is encouraging programmers to use the Ada or Spark formal languages to solve challenges throughout the Advent of Code this December.

The Advent of Code has become a tradition since its inception in 2015. It starts on December 1st and runs until the 25th, with a small programming exercise published daily on the website. Participants get points for each completed exercise although AdaCore is offering cash to a programming academy as well..

The puzzles cover a variety of skill levels and can be solved in any programming language. People use them as interview prep, company training, university coursework, practice problems, a speed contest, or to challenge each other, say the organisers.

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Just a little programming knowledge and some problem solving skills are all that is needed, and every problem has a solution that completes in at most 15 seconds on ten-year-old hardware.

For the second time, AdaCore is providing a little extra motivation for participants using the Ada or Spark programming languages. For each person completing one of the Advent of Code challenges using the Ada programming language, AdaCore will donate $10 to the Ada Developers Academy, up to a total of $5,000. And for those willing to go an extra mile, AdaCore will donate $20 if the solution is implemented in SPARK with at least proof of absence of run-time errors (a.k.a. Silver level).

A special thread on the ada-lang.io forum was created for anyone to get their solutions registered and is open to both beginners and experts.

In early January AdaCore will count all the submissions and donate the corresponding amount to the Ada Developers Academy.