is problem solving sites

The 8 Best Coding Challenge Websites to Help You Level Up Your Skills in 2020

Despite the lowest unemployment rate in decades, analysts expect technology hiring to continue growing steadily into the 2020s.

That’s great news for recent computer science graduates and developers currently working in the field, but that doesn’t mean ambitious engineers can get complacent.

While there will likely be growth opportunities in the market overall, there are still significant changes happening all the time, and a sense of urgency to keep up with the latest trends.

Today, there are more types of technical roles than ever before, and a continued proliferation of new languages, frameworks, and technologies. Technical employees that want to get ahead should routinely test and refine their skills.

To that end, I’ve put together the following list of platforms where you can level up your skills for any number of roles, from data science to developer operations.

1. freeCodeCamp

Helpful links: Website | Forum | Challenges

Let's begin with freeCodeCamp, which is a great website for beginners who are just getting into coding. They offer all sorts of resources on learning syntax, practicing coding, building projects, and preparing for interviews.

They don’t have as many interactive coding challenges as other sites, but they do offer some fun challenges and interview prep for beginners learning JavaScript.

Novices who are just learning to code for the first time. It’s a great place to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a fun, interactive way.

Pricing / Premium content

freeCodeCamp is completely free.

2. Coderbyte

Helpful links: Website | Blog | Dev.to | Free Challenges | Premium

My platform, Coderbyte, provides 300+ coding challenges you can solve in an online editor using 10 different programming languages. You can then access official solutions, over 1.5 million user solutions, and read articles on how to efficiently solve the challenges.

Coderbyte is recommended by the top coding bootcamps and companies because of its collection of interview prep challenges.

Coderbyte is perfect for people in the beginner-to-intermediate phase of their careers who are preparing for interviews. There is a library of harder challenges as well for those who like to solve coding problems for fun, but this isn’t primarily a site for competitive programmers.

There are a handful of free challenges on Coderbyte, and then there are hundreds of premium challenges and over 1 million user solutions that are available to members .

3. LeetCode

Helpful links: Website | Discussion | Free Challenges | Premium

LeetCode has a collection of some of the best algorithm challenges online today. The topics they cover require knowledge of data structures such as binary trees, heaps, linked lists, and so on, which is why their challenges are a bit more advanced than some other websites. But the challenges are great if used to prepare for a software engineering interview.

They also have a Mock Interview section that is specifically for job interview preparation. They also host their own coding contests , and they have a great discussion board where people talk about interview questions, jobs, compensation, and other topics related to engineering.

LeetCode is great for intermediate-to-advanced programmers. It might not be the best suited for brand new coders who don’t know how to write basic loops yet, but once you learn the fundamentals this is a great site to practice coding.

There are free challenges available on LeetCode, and they also have a premium subscription which gets you access to more challenges and other features of the platform.

Helpful links: Website | Blog | Challenges

This is the first time Edabit is appearing on our top sites list ( 2018 list , 2017 list )! It has grown in popularity over the last year, and developers seem to really enjoy the challenges. They offer a large collection of over 4,000 challenges that can be solved online in one of several languages.

The site currently only offers online interactive coding challenges — there aren’t any discussion boards, articles, user solutions, or mock interviews like other sites offer, but over time they might be adding some of these.

Edabit is great for beginners looking to practice their coding skills daily by solving bite-sized challenges. Once you reach the intermediate stage, other sites provide harder challenges and more content geared towards competitive programming and job interviews.

All the challenges on Edabit are free, and there is no premium pricing option.

5. Codewars

Helpful links: Website | Blog | Free Challenges | Premium

Codewars provides a large collection of coding challenges submitted and edited by their own community. You can solve the challenges directly online in their editor using 20+ programming languages. You can view a discussion for each challenge as well as user solutions. You can earn points and climb the rankings by solving their challenges.

Codewars is great for people in the beginner-to-intermediate phase. The challenges are created by the community so you get exposed to a lot of different types of coding challenges.

They offer all of their challenges created by the community for free, and their premium subscription gets you access to some cool features on their platform.

6. HackerRank

HackerRank has a large collection of coding challenges tailored towards algorithms and data structures, along with interview prep material, a discussion board for each challenge, and a list of top user solutions. They have challenges for other topics as well like functional programming, AI, Shell, SQL, and more.

HackerRank is great for intermediate-to-advanced programmers who have already picked up the basics of a language and are ready to solve more complicated problems. The challenges are written with mathematical notation and can sometimes be a little confusing, which is why it might not be so great for beginner developers.

All the challenges on HackerRank are free, and there is no premium pricing option.

7. TopCoder

TopCoder is one of the original platforms for competitive programming online. It provides a list of algorithmic challenges from past competitions that you can complete on your own directly online using their code editor.

Their popular Single Round Matches are offered a few times per month at a specific time where you compete against others to solve challenges. Here are some topics that their challenges may cover.

Aside from solving challenges for fun online, they offer sponsored competitions where you can win prizes for writing the best solution.

TopCoder is better suited for advanced programmers who are comfortable solving algorithm challenges dealing with advanced topics like graph search and number theory.

All the challenges on TopCoder are free, and there is no premium pricing option.

8. Codeforces

Helpful links: Website | Discussion | Challenges

Codeforces is now probably the top competitive programming website (a few years ago TopCoder was where most competitive programmers spent their time).

There are problems that you can solve online to practice, but there’s no online editor. Rather, you write your solution in your own editor and then upload it to their system which then tests your code against a suite of test cases.

They also frequently hold contests where the best competitive programmers take part in.

Advanced and competitive programmers who truly enjoy solving difficult algorithm challenges.

All the challenges on Codeforces are free, there is no premium pricing option.

CEO & Founder at Coderbyte.

If this article was helpful, share it .

Learn to code for free. freeCodeCamp's open source curriculum has helped more than 40,000 people get jobs as developers. Get started

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Posted on Aug 12, 2021 • Updated on Sep 12, 2021

11 Websites To Practice You Coding And Your Problem Solving Skills

11 websites to practice your coding and problem-solving skills.

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10 websites to practice coding problems: Our picks

Whether you're just starting out as a coder or want to advance your coding skills, tackling programming problems is part of the plan. 

Convenient, free, and even fun, coding problem websites challenge your abilities with individual exercises, friendly challenges, and insightful assessments.

Practicing your coding through these websites may increase your knowledge, build your skills, and prepare you for programming job interviews. 

Top websites for practicing your coding skills

Should a humanities major learn to code.

Can a humanities student learn coding? Absolutely. Coding is not strictly for STEM students — it can benefit you no matter your degree.

How hard is it to learn coding ? Starting from scratch can be difficult, but coding challenges designed to test and advance your skills may help. We rounded up 10 great websites for coding problems and listed them alphabetically for you. 

Each website offers a collection of resources for learning coding or advancing what you already know. 

1. CodeChef

CodeChef lets you choose among thousands of problems to practice skills like sorting, data structures, and dynamic programming. Problems are sortable by difficulty. Code Chef's practice problems allow you to answer in one of over 50 programming languages as you prepare for its internal or external monthly contests. 

CodeChef offers self-guided learning opportunities and mentoring programs alongside a community of coders, coding bootcamps, and tech certification programs. 

2. Coderbyte

Designed for coding practice and improvement, Coderbyte offers code challenges and courses aimed at helping you prepare for job interviews. 

Coderbyte had over three million solutions with challenges in more than 25 languages. Starter courses in algorithms, JavaScript, Ruby, and Python accompany interview kits and career resources. 

You can sign up for a free challenge and free trial. A monthly subscription to Coderbyte costs $35 and an annual subscription is $150. Both give you access to all of Coderbyte's resources. 

3. Codewars

Launched in 2012, Codewars provides practice kata, or small coding exercises, that you advance through as you build your skills. Codewars' kata are available in nearly 60 programming languages and in levels from beginner to advanced.

You can develop your own kata, engage with the Codewars community, and master one or multiple languages in the process. Feedback and creative learning facilitate creative thinking and innovation among Codewars' users. Codewars offers resources for educators and companies as well. 

4. CodinGame

With more than 25 supported languages, CodinGame provides challenge-based programming training through games, puzzles, and competitions. 

CodinGame's resources let you build your programming abilities, learn new concepts, and interact with fellow coders through easy, medium, hard, and very hard exercises.

CodeinGame's leaderboard and prizes earn you recognition from your peers and track your progress. Free live streams, blogs, and discussion forums for developers accompany sourcing, screening, and retention programs for recruiters. 

5. Geektastic

With human-reviewed technical assessments, Geektastic lets companies customize coding challenges for talent acquisition and engineering team training. If you have coding experience, you can join Geektastic's reviewer community to create and test those challenges — and get paid to review candidates' performance. 

Code challenges are offered in Java, Python, and PHP. Geektastic also offers skills assessments in Java, Javascript, and basic coding. Joining as a developer comes with no cost, while flexible pricing accommodates businesses of any size. 

6. HackerRank

HackerRank serves as a technical interview platform, but also provides coding practice to over 18 million users. Challenges offered by HackerRank cover topics including algorithms, Java, Python, Ruby, and data structures. 

HackerRank's challenges allow you to test your code, debug it, and win one of its sprint, company, language, or timed challenges. You can also earn certifications in specific skills or complete interview preparation kits. Pricing ranges from $25/month for interview content to $819/month team subscriptions.

7. LeetCode

LeetCode provides more than 2,250 practice problems to its programmer community. Individual challenges in topics like algorithms, database structures, and dynamic programming accompany entire study plans. 

LeetCode's programming skills study plan integrates three modules offered at easy, medium, or hard difficulty levels. LeetCode supports 14 programming languages and houses a playground tool to help you test, debug, and write code. 

Sign-up is free. LeetCode Premium offers access to additional tools and premium content for a monthly subscription of $35 or an annual fee of $159. 

8. Project Euler

Named for mathematician Leonhard Euler, Project Euler began in 2001. Recent and archival content is available for registered users at no cost. 

Project Euler offers computational programming problems combining mathematics with computer and programming skills. With 108 programming languages and more than one million users, Project Euler provides problems with varying difficulty.

Sphere Online Judge, or SPOJ , trains users to code and build efficient algorithms through more than 20,000 practice problems. Scoring categories for problems include challenges, tutorials, and riddles. Rankings and a status board accompany running contests that support more than 45 programming languages and compilers. 

SPOJ offers a flexible testing system to automatically assess user-submitted programs. Users can design their own contests or take part in an online course at all programming levels, but it is ideal for students.

10. TopCoder

TopCoder's community of designers, developers, data scientists, and competitive programmers build their skills, show their expertise, and earn money as they improve their coding abilities. TopCoder pays individuals for their work, sells it to corporate clients, and hosts competitions designed to highlight top coding talent worldwide.

Customers use TopCoder to hire freelancers on-demand, set challenges for the coding community, and find teams for projects.

This article was reviewed by Monali Mirel Chuatico

In 2019, Monali Mirel Chuatico graduated with her bachelor's in computer science, which gave her the foundation that she needed to excel in roles such as data engineer, front-end developer, UX designer, and computer science instructor.

Monali is currently a data engineer at Mission Lane. As a data analytics captain at a nonprofit called COOP Careers , Monali helps new grads and young professionals overcome underemployment by teaching them data analytics tools and mentoring them on their professional development journey.

Monali is passionate about implementing creative solutions, building community, advocating for mental health, empowering women, and educating youth. Monali's goal is to gain more experience in her field, expand her skill set, and do meaningful work that will positively impact the world.

Monali Mirel Chuatico is a paid member of the Red Ventures Education Integrity Network. 

Last reviewed April 21, 2022.

ZDNET Recommends

Achieve mastery through challenge

Improve your development skills by training with your peers on code kata that continuously challenge and push your coding practice.

Sharpen your coding skills

Challenge yourself on small coding exercises called "kata". Each kata is crafted by the community to help you strengthen different coding techniques. Master your current language of choice, or quickly pick up any of the 55+ programming languages supported.

Get instant feedback

Solve kata with your coding style right in the browser and use test cases (TDD) to check it as you progress. Retrain with new, creative, and optimized approaches. Find all of the bugs in your programming practice.

Earn ranks and honor

Kata code challenges are ranked from beginner to expert level. As you complete higher-ranked kata, you level up your profile and push your software development skills to your highest potential.

An engaged software development community

Codewars is a collective effort by its users. They are creators—authoring kata to teach various techniques, solving kata with solutions that enlighten others, and commenting with constructive feedback.

Community members added every month

Kata completed every month

Kata created by our community

Tap into the collective wisdom

Compare your solution with others after each kata for greater understanding. Discuss kata, best practices, and innovative techniques with the community. Have your mind blown by how different other solutions can be from your own.

Create your own kata

Author kata that focus on your interests and train specific skill sets. Challenge the community with your insight and code understanding. Create everything from common developer interview questions to challenges that push the limits of your creativity. Gain honor within the coding dojo.

What can I use Codewars for?

From beginner to expert and beyond...

Get new perspectives

Solve challenges then view how others solved the same challenge. Pickup new techniques from some of the most skilled developers in the world.

Learn new languages

Solve challenges in a language you are comfortable with, then do it in a language you want to improve with. Level up across different languages.

Compete with peers

Compete against your friends, colleagues, and the community at large. Allow competition to motivate you  towards mastering your craft.

Extremely well done and an excellent example of mastery learning.

Ahmed Omran

@this_ahmed

Accidentally got addicted to codewars, oops.

Kelly Williams

Build self-confidence

Not sure if you are progressing well as a programmer? Push yourself to your limits and show yourself what you are really made of.

Become a mentor

Lend your expertise to others, either indirectly by contributing great solutions or directly by creating your own kata and reviewing code.

Insights from Codewars staff and community.

Introducing the EPIC Challenge 2024

What's new in Codewars: March highlights

What's new in Codewars: February highlights

Codewars is built on.

The world's most advanced coding assessment platform for organizations looking to scale their hiring, upskilling, and certification programs.

Achieve mastery through challenge.

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11 Best Websites to Practice Coding for Beginners in 2024

Coding is not a spectator sport. To develop your skills, you must write it yourself. Here are the best websites to practice coding.

Indeed’s Best Jobs of 2023 ranked America’s most highly prized careers based on demand, pay, and potential for growth. These careers included:

• Full-stack developer (#1)
• Data engineer (#2)
• Back end developer (#6)
• Site reliability engineer (#7)
• Director of data science (#25)

That means half of the top ten best jobs in America require coding skills‌. But, if you don’t have coding skills, where do you go to learn them?

At Flatiron School , we help pave the way for your transition into the tech industry. Our comprehensive programs are designed to provide you with the foundational knowledge you need to develop the coding and programming skills that are in such high demand. Our programs help students discover their full potential and pursue the career of their dreams.

But maybe you’re just ready to dip your toe in and explore your options? There are several coding for beginners resources online.   So whether you’re looking to learn a new coding language or try out programming for the first time, it’s worth looking into coding practice sites for beginners.

11 Best Coding Practice Sites

Coding is not a spectator sport. It’s great to watch tutorials and read books on how to code, but to truly develop your programming proficiency, you must write the language yourself. Here are some of the best places to practice your coding skills.

1. Coderbyte

As you begin to develop your coding skills, you may be unsure what to practice first. It helps to work on real-world problems other coding professionals have faced—and Coderbyte has exactly that. With over 2,000 challenges on front and back end development, data structures, and algorithms that professionals have faced in their interviews, you’ll be able to hone your skills on examples that really matter.

Pros of Coderbyte

‌Coderbyte lets you use over 30 different programming languages and has a library of over 3 million solutions you can learn from.

Cons of Coderbyte

Coderbyte has a user interface that’s often complex for new users to navigate, so it might take some time getting used to this site.

2. Pluralsight

If you’re seeking a comprehensive learning platform that allows you to learn at your own pace, go with Pluralsight . You’ll develop a strong skill set in Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, just to name a few. You can also receive learning recommendations based on what you’re focusing on.

Pros of Pluralsight

The platform provides a personalized learning experience as you can customize your training sessions with multiple features, including multiple language support.

Cons of Pluralsight

Users have minimal interaction with course instructors and industry experts, which makes it difficult to gain valuable feedback.   

Unlock over 10,000 interactive coding challenges with Edabit . This free platform provides courses that are simple and practical. You can also access beginner tutorials to make the most of your learning experience. Plus, the challenges are ranked by difficulty, so you know exactly what level you’re at in your programming expertise.

Pros of Edabit

Learners gain access to a code editor that’s built into the platform. That way, users can create a code without having to switch to another application.

Cons of Edabit

You don’t gain a certificate for completing any of the tutorials. Also, some users have stated that the platform used outdated programming languages. 

4. CodinGame

Wanna play a game? CodinGame lets you practice your coding through fun games and code challenges. With single-round matches and both solo and multiplayer modes, this platform gives you a chance to practice coding the fun way.  

Pros of CodinGame

There are over 25 available programming languages.

Cons of CodinGame

Some users take issue with the size of the timers displayed on the programming tests. Unless you look carefully for the timer, you may miss the opportunity to submit your questions on time. 

5. CodeChef

Competition can be the best motivator to learn, and CodeChef offers exactly that. This platform lets users measure their skills by practicing more than 3,000 problems. You can compete against other coders, which creates great coding practice for beginners. But don’t worry—the competition is friendly, and participants often write posts and tutorials to help each other learn.

Pros of CodeChef

CodeChef users will be pleased to know that there is an active, supportive community that encourages growth. 

Cons of CodeChef

Users report that some practice problems lack clarity.

6. Project Euler

Project Euler offers a chance to solve challenging math problems with script. Over 1 million users have solved at least one problem on the site.

Pros of Project Euler

The site offers 111 programming languages.

Cons of Project Euler

If math isn’t your strongest subject, Project Euler may not be for you. The math-oriented programming languages get quite complex as you progress through the challenges.

7. TopCoder

Join a community of 1.7 million technical experts at TopCoder . On the learning side, they have an abundance of weekly challenges and explanations, along with challenging competitions that help you rise to the coding occasion.

Pros of TopCoder

The site is one of the most established platforms with an active user base.

Cons of TopCoder

Some users have experienced difficulty navigating the program’s user interface. Also, if you submit a support request, it may go unnoticed as their support system lacks efficiency.

8. One Month

Learning coding and web development in a span of 30 days with One Month . You can select from a variety of basic courses that cover HTML, Python, SQL, Ruby, and more! You also get to create real-world projects.

Pros of One Month

This user-friendly resource is great if you’re just looking to learn the fundamentals of coding and web development.

Cons of One Month

If you decide to switch to another programming platform, just note that there are no refunds available.

9. Geektastic

With detailed solutions to their multiple-choice and peer-reviewed coding challenges, Geektastic has a wealth of resources for programmers and a growing community of over 26,000 developers.

Pros of Geektastic

In addition to their interactive challenges and competitions, coders that rank high enough might even be allowed to join the review team. Members of this team get paid to review coding submissions for clients seeking a solution to their own coding projects.

Cons of Geektastic

Some users have raised concerns with how the challenges are scored, stating that they don’t reflect a candidate’s programming skills well. 

10. Geeks for Geeks

Made by developers for developers, Geeks for Geeks offers coding content for programmers of all skill levels, including beginners. Exercises in data structures, machine learning, web development, and much more are available.

Pros of Geeks for Geeks

Competitive challenges offer interactivity and a space to share coding solutions.

Cons of Geeks for Geeks

Geeks for Geeks primarily provides information in English, which means non-English speakers could run into trouble with the resources available. The website also has limited multimedia resources, mostly relying on text-based information.  

11. HackerEarth

What’s great about HackerEarth is that users can create and customize their coding assessments for technical positions. 

With HackerEarth, you’ll join a community of 7.6 million developers, participate in several programming challenges and customize your tests for a specific role.

Pros of HackerEarth

Not only does the website offer support in multiple languages, but it also includes AI proctoring to ensure exam results are accurate and reliable. 

Cons of HackerEarth

You might run into trouble navigating to specific problem types because the website has troublesome indexing and prioritization. 

Blogs to Help You Learn

They may be less interactive than competitions and online courses, but plenty of coding for beginners blogs are available to help new students gain programming proficiency. Here are some of our favorites.

1. The Crazy Programmer

This blog isn’t designed to give hands-on coding experience, but there’s a wealth of programming knowledge on pretty much everything else. From useful books and articles to tutorials and Q&As, The Crazy Programmer is a great blog to follow for those just learning to code.

2. The Hackr.io Blog

If you’re looking for courses or content that will grow your coding skills, The Hackr.io Blog will help you look in the right places. Written by a community of programming professionals, this blog is devoted to grading the most useful coding content so readers know they’re relying on quality sources. 

The blog touches on a wide range of topics, though, so those looking for resources on a specific language may find their content hit and miss.

3. Better Programming

As its name suggests, this blog is devoted to improving your programming. With posts on a range of topics in web design and coding, Better Programming features content from multiple industry pros on both introductory and advanced content. There’s truly something for everyone. As with Hackr.io, those concentrating on a specific topic may want something more focused.

Flatiron School: The Ultimate Coding Solution

What makes us different from coding websites? Here at Flatiron School, we work tirelessly to help students gain the foundational coding skills they need to begin a career in the tech industry. Combining flexible program options, industry-leading education, and up to 180 days of Career Coaching upon graduation, Flatiron School gives our students the jumping-off point they need to begin a rewarding tech career.  

Our programs contain a mixture of lectures, group work, instructor guidance, and community support to both equip our students with technical skills and prepare them to work effectively on a team. No matter what level a student begins at, Flatiron School’s Software Engineering program can take you from a complete beginner to industry-ready in as little as 15 weeks. 

If you’re committed to a career in tech, we’ll teach you the skills you need to succeed. 

Apply today to get started . Not ready to apply? No problem – test out our material with Free Software Engineering Prep Work or download the course syllabus .

If you’re an employer looking to bring new talent to your team, check out our tech training solutions and see how you can invest in your company’s growth. 

Disclaimer: The information in this blog is current as of 23 October 2023. Current policies, offerings, procedures, and programs may differ.

About Flatiron School

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What Is Problem Solving?

Find a solution to any problem you face.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

We all spend a lot of our time solving problems, both at work and in our personal lives.

Some problems are small, and we can quickly sort them out ourselves. But others are complex challenges that take collaboration, creativity, and a considerable amount of effort to solve.

At work, the types of problems we face depend largely on the organizations we're in and the jobs we do. A manager in a cleaning company, for example, might spend their day untangling staffing issues, resolving client complaints, and sorting out problems with equipment and supplies. An aircraft designer, on the other hand, might be grappling with a problem about aerodynamics, or trying to work out why a new safety feature isn't working. Meanwhile, a politician might be exploring solutions to racial injustice or climate change.

But whatever issues we face, there are some common ways to tackle them effectively. And we can all boost our confidence and ability to succeed by building a strong set of problem-solving skills.

Mind Tools offers a large collection of resources to help you do just that!

How Well Do You Solve Problems?

Start by taking an honest look at your existing skills. What's your current approach to solving problems, and how well is it working? Our quiz, How Good Is Your Problem Solving? lets you analyze your abilities, and signposts ways to address any areas of weakness.

Define Every Problem

The first step in solving a problem is understanding what that problem actually is. You need to be sure that you're dealing with the real problem – not its symptoms. For example, if performance in your department is substandard, you might think that the problem lies with the individuals submitting work. However, if you look a bit deeper, the real issue might be a general lack of training, or an unreasonable workload across the team.

Tools like 5 Whys , Appreciation and Root Cause Analysis get you asking the right questions, and help you to work through the layers of a problem to uncover what's really going on.

However, defining a problem doesn't mean deciding how to solve it straightaway. It's important to look at the issue from a variety of perspectives. If you commit yourself too early, you can end up with a short-sighted solution. The CATWOE checklist provides a powerful reminder to look at many elements that may contribute to the problem, keeping you open to a variety of possible solutions.

Understanding Complexity

As you define your problem, you'll often discover just how complicated it is. There are likely several interrelated issues involved. That's why it's important to have ways to visualize, simplify and make sense of this tangled mess!

Affinity Diagrams are great for organizing many different pieces of information into common themes, and for understanding the relationships between them.

Another popular tool is the Cause-and-Effect Diagram . To generate viable solutions, you need a solid understanding of what's causing the problem.

When your problem occurs within a business process, creating a Flow Chart , Swim Lane Diagram or a Systems Diagram will help you to see how various activities and inputs fit together. This may well highlight a missing element or bottleneck that's causing your problem.

Quite often, what seems to be a single problem turns out to be a whole series of problems. The Drill Down technique prompts you to split your problem into smaller, more manageable parts.

General Problem-Solving Tools

When you understand the problem in front of you, you’re ready to start solving it. With your definition to guide you, you can generate several possible solutions, choose the best one, then put it into action. That's the four-step approach at the heart of good problem solving.

There are various problem-solving styles to use. For example:

• Constructive Controversy is a way of widening perspectives and energizing discussions.
• Inductive Reasoning makes the most of people’s experiences and know-how, and can speed up solution finding.
• Means-End Analysis can bring extra clarity to your thinking, and kick-start the process of implementing solutions.

Specific Problem-Solving Systems

Some particularly complicated or important problems call for a more comprehensive process. Again, Mind Tools has a range of approaches to try, including:

• Simplex , which involves an eight-stage process: problem finding, fact finding, defining the problem, idea finding, selecting and evaluating, planning, selling the idea, and acting. These steps build upon the basic, four-step process described above, and they create a cycle of problem finding and solving that will continually improve your organization.
• Appreciative Inquiry , which is a uniquely positive way of solving problems by examining what's working well in the areas surrounding them.
• Soft Systems Methodology , which takes you through four stages to uncover more details about what's creating your problem, and then define actions that will improve the situation.

Further Problem-Solving Strategies

Good problem solving requires a number of other skills – all of which are covered by Mind Tools.

For example, we have a large section of resources to improve your Creativity , so that you come up with a range of possible solutions.

By strengthening your Decision Making , you'll be better at evaluating the options, selecting the best ones, then choosing how to implement them.

And our Project Management collection has valuable advice for strengthening the whole problem-solving process. The resources there will help you to make effective changes – and then keep them working long term.

Problems are an inescapable part of life, both in and out of work. So we can all benefit from having strong problem-solving skills.

It's important to understand your current approach to problem solving, and to know where and how to improve.

Define every problem you encounter – and understand its complexity, rather than trying to solve it too soon.

There's a range of general problem-solving approaches, helping you to generate possible answers, choose the best ones, and then implement your solution.

Some complicated or serious problems require more specific problem-solving systems, especially when they relate to business processes.

By boosting your creativity, decision-making and project-management skills, you’ll become even better at solving all the problems you face.

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Mathematics for Competitive Programming

• Must do Math for Competitive Programming
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Number Theory for CP

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• How to begin with Competitive Programming?
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Resources for CP

• What Are The Best Resources For Competitive Programming?
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Top 15 Websites for Coding Challenges and Competitions

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Starting the journey of programming and competitive coding , every coder wants to test himself/herself in the waters. To do so, he/she has to participate in various competitive coding challenges and competitions. But the challenge that every coder faces in the beginning of the journey is which website to go for such coding challenges and competitions, which is the best website for coding competitions, what is the benefit of attending a competitive coding competition, and many more.

In this article, we have addressed the questions that you face in such situations and curated a list of top 15 websites for coding challenges and competitions. If you are about to begin your coding journey, we recommend you to refer to this article for a complete reference of the opportunities you can take advantage of using the mentioned websites for coding challenges and competitions.

Here are the top 15 coding websites/contests for competitive programming:

1. GeeksForGeeks

GeeksForGeeks organizes a bunch of programming contests every month through the practice portal which includes a number of job-a-thons for freshers to get hiring opportunities in a significant number of companies. Besides, there are many other monthly, weekly and daily basis challenges hosted regularly on the websites such as:

• Monthly Job-a-thon : It is a contest for individual participants. Participants get the opportunity to get hired by a bunch of companies that shortlist for interviews as per their own criteria.
• Bi-Wizard Coding : A coding competition exclusively for students. The top 100 students get chances of winning exciting rewards and also access to free courses.
• Aim GATE : A monthly challenge that is a great opportunity for GATE aspirants to judge their preparations.
• Interview Series : A weekly challenge that gives a great opportunity for aspirants to practice a lot of questions based on important data structure and algorithms concepts for the preparation of interviews.
• Problem of the Day : A new problem every day to strengthen the base of data structure and algorithm.

The key features about the contests are as follows:

• Chances of winning exciting rewards, GeeksForGeeks merchandise .
• Access to free courses .
• Chances of getting letter of recommendation from the CEO .

2.  The ACM-ICPC International Collegiate Programming Competitions

The International Collegiate Programming Contest is an algorithmic programming contest for college students. Teams of three, representing their university, work to solve the most real-world problems, fostering collaboration, creativity, innovation, and the ability to perform under pressure. Through training and competition, teams challenge each other to raise the bar on the possibility. Quite simply, it is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious programming contest in the world. Some interesting stats about ACM-ICPC are:

• It is spread across 80 countries
• The registration for the contest in India starts generally in August .
• The regionals in India are held generally in December
• The winner of the world finals gets an award of $15000 , each continental champion also receives awards. There are also prizes for being the first solver of a problem

Refer to our complete guide on How to prepare for ACM – ICPC to begin your ACM-ICPC journey.

3. Google Kick Start

Google Kick Start is a global online coding competition, consisting of three-hour rounds of a variety of algorithmic challenges designed by Google engineers. Participants can compete in one or all online rounds held throughout the year, and will have the opportunity to develop and grow their programming abilities while getting a glimpse into the technical skills needed for a career at Google. Some important facts about Google Kick Start are:

• It consists of 8 online coding rounds.
• The winner gets cash prizes .
• Top participants may be invited to interview at Google .

Refer to our complete guide on How to prepare for Google Kick Start to begin your Google Kick Start journey.

4. Google Code Jam

Google Code Jam is Google’s prestigious coding competition, a global battleground that urges all programmers to showcase their coding skills. A thrilling opportunity for all code-lovers, Google Coding Jam is a one-of-a-kind platform where programmers are pitted against each other and against time by putting their coding skills to the test. The champion gets the coveted Google Code Jam winning title and cash prize of $15,000 !

The Google Coding Jam comprises several rounds and a Code Jam World final. Each round brings with it challenging algorithmic problems; contestants have to pass each of these preliminary rounds, and finally, a total of 25 coding wizards reach the end game to fight for the cherished champion’s title.

You can also see and try previous year’s problems from our Google Code Jam archive page.

5. Google Hash Code

Hash Code is a team programming competition, organized by Google, for students and professionals around the world. You pick your team and programming language and we pick an engineering problem for you to solve. This year’s contest kicks off with a Qualification Round, where your team can compete virtually from wherever you’d like, alongside your virtual Hub. Top teams will then be invited to compete in our virtual World Finals. Some facts about Google Hash Code are:

• Registration generally starts in February .
• Winners get cash prize of $4000 .

You can also see and try previous year’s problems from their Google Hash Code archive page.

6. The ICFP Programming Competitions

The International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP) has been held annually since 1998. It is a challenging three-day open programming competition for which there is no entry fee. The enthusiast can participate from any location without any size limit for team formation. The team will be given 72 hours to complete and submit their entry through the internet. The aim of this competition is to showcase the programming languages and tools that the participants admire the most. This is one of the top programming competitions to apply for.  The ICFP for 2022 will be from 11th to 16th September .

7. Facebook Hacker Cup

Hacker Cup is Facebook’s annual open programming competition which is open across the world for participants. This is one of the top programming competitions to apply for. These coding competitions focus on problem-solving and algorithmic coding skills to advance through every year’s online rounds, and after making it to the global finals they will be earning the grand prize. Some facts about Facebook Hacker Cup:

• It consists of 4 online rounds which include Qualification round, round 1, round 2, round 3 and one onsite final round .
• All of the 25 finalists get cash prizes .

Refer to our complete guide on How to prepare for Facebook Hacker Cup to begin your Facebook Hacker Cup journey.

8. Microsoft Imagine Cup

Microsoft Imagine Cup is held annually. The program invites participants to take on real-world problems that are submitted by NGOs, IGOs , and nonprofit organizations that can then take on as part of the Imagine Cup project. The main idea behind conducting such coding competitions and programming competitions is to code with a purpose that can help create new solutions. Some important facts about Microsoft Imagine Cup:

• You must be at least 16 years old and actively registered as a student .
• Students participate in a team of maximum 4 persons .
• There are cash prizes and other benefits like training and mentorship from experts for global finalists.
• There are also three regional finals.

9. Codeforces Coding Competitions

Codeforces is a website that hosts competitive programming competitions. It is one of the most popular websites for its exciting features. This is one of the top programming competitions to apply for. The polygon feature for creating and testing problems and social networking through internal public blogs. The participants are divided into ranks based on their ratings.

The best thing about Codeforces is that the contests are regularly conducted here as every month they organize nearly 6 contests. Also, participation in the contests is free and open to everybody.

 Codeforces offers various types of coding challenges and features such as:

• Short format Contests with a duration of 2 hours .
• Educational Contests of 2-2.5 hours duration are conducted 2-4 times in a month.
• You can challenge or hack other contestants’ solutions as well.
• You can also solve problems from previous contests for learning objectives.

Refer to our complete guide on Best Tips to Get Started with Codeforces to begin your Codeforces journey.

10. Codechef Coding Competitions

CodeChef organizes programming competitions at the start of every month and conducts two smaller programming contests at the middle and end of the month. It also offers various algorithm tutorials and forum discussions to help your journey in computer programming more easily.

There are four types of contest Codechef host:

• The Starters
• The Long Challenge
• The Cook-Off
• The LunchTime

Refer to our complete guide on How to become a 4 star coder on Codechef in only 3 contests to help you kickstart your Codechef journey.

11. Topcoder Coding Competitions

Topcoder is a crowdsourcing company with a global community of developers, designers, data scientists, and competitive programmers . These coding competitions are conducted twice a year and are held both online and offline. The participants take challenges from across the world from all the leading brands such as Google, IBM, and eBay . They also conduct individual matches online every week that can help participants gain experience and do well in the competition.

12. Atcoder Coding Competitions

AtCoder is a programming contest website based in Japan. From this weekend, we will provide problem statements in both English and Japanese and AtCoder will be an international programming competition! There are three types of official contests in AtCoder:

• AtCoder Grand Contest (AGC) . This is our best contest. The problems will have high originality and require interesting observations.
• AtCoder Regular Contest (ARC) . The problems may be a bit typical compared to AGC problems, but still, we think most of you can enjoy them and they are good for practice.
• AtCoder Beginner Contest (ABC ). This is mainly targeted at those who are new to competitive programming. The problems will be easy and educational.

13. HackerEarth

HackerEarth is an Indian software company headquartered in San Francisco, US, that provides enterprise software that helps organizations with their technical hiring needs. HackerEarth is used by organizations for technical skill assessment and remote video interviewing. All challenges organized by HackerEarth are listed on the Challenges Page. These challenges can be divided into the following categories. Monthly Programming Contests: Currently they have 3 monthly contests based on difficulty level. 1st of every month from 21:30 IST (16:00 UTC) to Midnight for a duration of 2 hours & 30 minutes. The website offers thoughtful challenges mostly good for experienced programmers. They host monthly coding challenges and hackathons. Their challenge Code Monk is quite popular among programmers. ThoughtWorks , Amazon , Accenture , Walmart Labs , IBM , and Intuit are some leading companies of HackerEarth.

14. HackerRank

HackerRank is a competitive coding platform where it allows you to practice various coding problems and participate in many challenges. It provides various hackathons, and coding challenges and some companies conduct their hiring test here. The platform also gives you badges by solving challenges on the HackerRank website, and these badges will be added to your profile. This is one of the top programming competitions to apply for.

15. Leetcode

Leetcode is one of the largest tech communities with more than millions of active users. It offers various weekly and biweekly programming competitions for the participants. This also helps in job interview preparation; discussions are also provided on LeetCode. It hosts contests for 90 minutes where you can solve the challenges in their online editor, aka, playground in any one of the supported programming languages.

Conclusion:

Though the above mentioned coding websites are very common, there are other websites as well that are widely used by other users worldwide for coding practice and challenges, such as:

• Khan Academy
• and many others.

Related Posts:

• Stuck in Programming: Get The Solution From These 10 Best Websites
• 10 Best Coding Games to Advance Your Programming Skills  

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Overview of the Problem-Solving Mental Process

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

• Identify the Problem
• Define the Problem
• Form a Strategy
• Organize Information
• Allocate Resources
• Monitor Progress
• Evaluate the Results

Frequently Asked Questions

Problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing, and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue.

The best strategy for solving a problem depends largely on the unique situation. In some cases, people are better off learning everything they can about the issue and then using factual knowledge to come up with a solution. In other instances, creativity and insight are the best options.

It is not necessary to follow problem-solving steps sequentially, It is common to skip steps or even go back through steps multiple times until the desired solution is reached.

In order to correctly solve a problem, it is often important to follow a series of steps. Researchers sometimes refer to this as the problem-solving cycle. While this cycle is portrayed sequentially, people rarely follow a rigid series of steps to find a solution.

The following steps include developing strategies and organizing knowledge.

1. Identifying the Problem

While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is not always as simple as it sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong source of a problem, which will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.

Some strategies that you might use to figure out the source of a problem include :

• Asking questions about the problem
• Breaking the problem down into smaller pieces
• Looking at the problem from different perspectives
• Conducting research to figure out what relationships exist between different variables

2. Defining the Problem

After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define the problem so that it can be solved. You can define a problem by operationally defining each aspect of the problem and setting goals for what aspects of the problem you will address

At this point, you should focus on figuring out which aspects of the problems are facts and which are opinions. State the problem clearly and identify the scope of the solution.

3. Forming a Strategy

After the problem has been identified, it is time to start brainstorming potential solutions. This step usually involves generating as many ideas as possible without judging their quality. Once several possibilities have been generated, they can be evaluated and narrowed down.

The next step is to develop a strategy to solve the problem. The approach used will vary depending upon the situation and the individual's unique preferences. Common problem-solving strategies include heuristics and algorithms.

• Heuristics are mental shortcuts that are often based on solutions that have worked in the past. They can work well if the problem is similar to something you have encountered before and are often the best choice if you need a fast solution.
• Algorithms are step-by-step strategies that are guaranteed to produce a correct result. While this approach is great for accuracy, it can also consume time and resources.

Heuristics are often best used when time is of the essence, while algorithms are a better choice when a decision needs to be as accurate as possible.

4. Organizing Information

Before coming up with a solution, you need to first organize the available information. What do you know about the problem? What do you not know? The more information that is available the better prepared you will be to come up with an accurate solution.

When approaching a problem, it is important to make sure that you have all the data you need. Making a decision without adequate information can lead to biased or inaccurate results.

5. Allocating Resources

Of course, we don't always have unlimited money, time, and other resources to solve a problem. Before you begin to solve a problem, you need to determine how high priority it is.

If it is an important problem, it is probably worth allocating more resources to solving it. If, however, it is a fairly unimportant problem, then you do not want to spend too much of your available resources on coming up with a solution.

At this stage, it is important to consider all of the factors that might affect the problem at hand. This includes looking at the available resources, deadlines that need to be met, and any possible risks involved in each solution. After careful evaluation, a decision can be made about which solution to pursue.

6. Monitoring Progress

After selecting a problem-solving strategy, it is time to put the plan into action and see if it works. This step might involve trying out different solutions to see which one is the most effective.

It is also important to monitor the situation after implementing a solution to ensure that the problem has been solved and that no new problems have arisen as a result of the proposed solution.

Effective problem-solvers tend to monitor their progress as they work towards a solution. If they are not making good progress toward reaching their goal, they will reevaluate their approach or look for new strategies .

7. Evaluating the Results

After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the results to determine if it is the best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be immediate, such as checking the results of a math problem to ensure the answer is correct, or it can be delayed, such as evaluating the success of a therapy program after several months of treatment.

Once a problem has been solved, it is important to take some time to reflect on the process that was used and evaluate the results. This will help you to improve your problem-solving skills and become more efficient at solving future problems.

A Word From Verywell​

It is important to remember that there are many different problem-solving processes with different steps, and this is just one example. Problem-solving in real-world situations requires a great deal of resourcefulness, flexibility, resilience, and continuous interaction with the environment.

Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how you can stop dwelling in a negative mindset.

Follow Now : Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts

You can become a better problem solving by:

• Practicing brainstorming and coming up with multiple potential solutions to problems
• Being open-minded and considering all possible options before making a decision
• Breaking down problems into smaller, more manageable pieces
• Asking for help when needed
• Researching different problem-solving techniques and trying out new ones
• Learning from mistakes and using them as opportunities to grow

It's important to communicate openly and honestly with your partner about what's going on. Try to see things from their perspective as well as your own. Work together to find a resolution that works for both of you. Be willing to compromise and accept that there may not be a perfect solution.

Take breaks if things are getting too heated, and come back to the problem when you feel calm and collected. Don't try to fix every problem on your own—consider asking a therapist or counselor for help and insight.

If you've tried everything and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix the problem, you may have to learn to accept it. This can be difficult, but try to focus on the positive aspects of your life and remember that every situation is temporary. Don't dwell on what's going wrong—instead, think about what's going right. Find support by talking to friends or family. Seek professional help if you're having trouble coping.

Davidson JE, Sternberg RJ, editors.  The Psychology of Problem Solving .  Cambridge University Press; 2003. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615771

Sarathy V. Real world problem-solving .  Front Hum Neurosci . 2018;12:261. Published 2018 Jun 26. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00261

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Problem Solving for Your Classroom

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Recent pro problems, ask professor puzzler, book scrounger, departments, welcome to the problem site, a site fueled by a passion to provide interesting, informative, and valuable content to educators and students. we have an enormous collection of math problems, physics problems, brain teasers, and puzzles written by educators. we also have a fine collection of educational games. these games aren't all fancy graphics and silliness; the focus is on the educational value for students, so those who play our games will get the most puzzling, problem solving, and learning, in a compact time frame. our games include word games, math games, strategy games, and even a handful of games specifically designed for young children. and if all that isn't enough, we also have printable mazes, worksheets, and vocabulary lists, and quizzes on a variety of subjects. the list of icons below will help you get started finding the resources you want., did you know....

The administrator of this site (AKA Professor Puzzler) is also a ventriloquist? You can see some of his work on youtube:  Ventriloquist, teacher, song writer . Doug is also a math tutor and a music instructor.

Note:  We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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Linx humanités et sciences sociales, première en france du film solving the bonnet problem.

  Ce documentaire suit le travail de trois mathématiciens qui ont collaboré pour résoudre un problème géométrique posé vers le milieu du  XIX e  siècle  par Pierre Ossian-Bonnet (X1838 et plus tard Directeur des études de l'École). Faux pas, percées et finalement succès : le film vous invite à être témoin d'une démarche de recherche en mathématiques débouchant sur la résolution d'un problème, aidé par  des infographies qui rendent les concepts très accessibles. Le film, tourné en partie à l'Institut Henri Poincaré et à l'École polytechnique , explore aussi la vie et les contributions de Bonnet et de son contemporain Gaston Darboux, une des grandes figures de la géométrie au XIX e  siècle, offrant ainsi une promenade à travers l'histoire des mathématiques françaises de cette époque.   

For the first time, you can witness a complex mathematical problem being solved in front of your eye and understand some of the missteps, breakthroughs and successes. The documentary "Solving the Bonnet Problem" follows the work of three mathematicians as they collaborate to solve a long-standing geometrical problem proposed by Pierre Ossian-Bonnet. Alongside their work, the film, partly shot at Institut Henri Poincaré and at École polytechnique, explores the lives and contributions of Bonnet and his contemporary Gaston Darboux, as well as the history of French mathematics in the 19th century. Captivating computer graphics help unravel intricate concepts and make them accessible to all. 

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film director Ekaterina Eremenko, as well as several participants of the documentary,  and mathematicians.