An Introduction to
Programming Concepts
and OI-programming
…from abstract theory to dirty
tricks…
Objectives Today
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Introduction to the concept of “Algorithms”
Introduction to common algorithms in OI
competitions
Introduction to graph theory
Introduction to complexity
“Philosophy” of OI competitions
OI-style programming
What is an Algorithm?
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From Wikipedia: An algorithm is a finite set of welldefined instructions for accomplishing some task which,
given an initial state, will terminate in a corresponding
recognizable end-state.
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(what does that mean?)
Usually, an algorithm solves a “problem”.
Examples
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Insertion sort
Binary Search
An algorithm does not have to be a computer program!
Think about other possible algorithms in real life
“Problem”s
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Usually a set of well defined inputs and
corresponding outputs
Example: the sorting problem:
Input: a list of numbers
 Output: a sorted list of numbers
 We can use a number of different sorting algorithms
to solve the sorting problem
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Data Structures
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Supplementary objects that help store data in an
algorithm
Different data structures have different
properties, and can store different types of data,
and access them in different ways
Selecting the right data structure can be very
important, as you will learn later
Examples: arrays, queues, stacks… more will be
introduced later
Examples of algorithms
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Sorting algorithms
Graph algorithms – Djikstra, Warshall-floyd,
Bellman-Ford, Prims, Kruskal
Tree-Search algorithms – BFS, DFS
Linear Searching Algorithms
Examples of Data Structures
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Array – random access
Queue – First in First Out
Stack – First in Last Out
Heap – extract min/max number
Binary Search Tree – Efficient insert, search,
delete, etc.
Hash Table – fast lookup
Other graph data structures discussed below
Examples of Techniques in
Designing Algorithms
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Recursion
Dynamic programming
Greedy
Divide and conquer
Branch and bound
(the above may have overlaps)
Using and Creating Algorithms
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“It is science. You can derive them.”
“It is art. We have no way to teach you!”
– Alan Tam
Why study algorithms?
To solve problems that can be directly solved by
existing algorithms
To solve problems that can be solved by combining
algorithms
To get feelings and inspirations on how to design new
algorithms
Related Issues
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Proving correctness of algorithms (why? why
not?)
Other methods: finding counter examples,
“Unu’s Conjecture of Competition”
Questions?
Graphs
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What is a graph?
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Informally, a set of relationships between things
A graph is defined as G=(V,E), where
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V is the set of vertices (singular: vertex)
 E is the set of edges that connect some of the
vertices
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A path is a sequence of vertices which are
connected by edge(s)
Example
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Map of Australia
NT
Q
WA
SA
NSW
V
T
Common Types of Graphs
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Directed/Undirected Graph
Weighted/Unweighted Graph
Connectivity
NT
Q
WA
SA
NSW
V
T
Trees
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A few common definitions (equivalent):
Connected graph with no cycles
 There is a unique path between any two vertices
 Connected graph with v – 1 edges (v = num of
vertices)
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Rooted/Unrooted Trees
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Heap, Binary Search Trees
Representing a graph
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Adjacency Matrix
Adjacency List
Complexity
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What is complexity?
We are not (yet!) concerned with the exact
runtime or memory used
We want to know how well an algorithm “scales
up” (i.e. when there is a large input). Why?
Complexity (cont’d)
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Here’s why:
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
f(n) = 10n
f(n) = 30n
f(n) = n^2
f(n) = n^3
Quasi-Formal Definition of Big-O
(you need not remember these)
We say
f(x) is in O(g(x))
if and only if
there exist numbers x0 and M such that
|f(x)| ≤ M |g(x)| for x > x0
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Example 1 – Bubble sort
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For i := 1 to n do
For j := i downto 2 do
if a[j] > a[j-1] then swap(a[j], a[j-1]);
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Time Complexity? O(n2)
“Swap Complexity”?
How about memory?
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Example 2 – Insertion Sort
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Quick introduction to insertion sort (you will
learn more in the searching and sorting training):
[] 4 3 1 5 2
 [4] 3 1 5 2
 [3 4] 1 5 2
 [1 3 4] 5 2
 [1 3 4 5] 2
 [1 2 3 4 5]
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Time Complexity = ?
Applications
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Usually, the time complexity of the algorithm gives us a rough
estimation of the actual run time.
O(n) for very large N
O(n2) for n ~ 1000-3000
O(n3) for n ~ 100-200
O(n4) for n ~ 50
O(kn) for O(n!) for very small n, usually < 20
Keep in mind
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The constant of the algorithms (including the implementation)
Computers vary in speeds, so the time needed will be different
Therefore remember to test the program/computer before making
assumptions!
Problem
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I have implemented bubble sort for an Array
A[N] and applied binary search on it.
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Time complexity of bubble sort?
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Time complexity of binary search?
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O(N2). No doubt.
O(lg N)
Well, what is the time complexity of my algorithm?
Properties
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O(f) + O(g) = max(O(f), O(g))
O(f) * O(g) = O(fg)
So, what is the answer regarding to previous
question?
Some other notations (optional)
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f(N) is Θ(g(N))
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f(N) is o(g(N))
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For all C, there exists N0 such that
|f(N)| < C|g(N)| for all N > N0
f(N) is Ω(g(N))
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iff f(N) is O(g(N)) and g(N) is O(f(N))
iff g(N) is O(f(N))
Again no need to remember them
Computational Theory Topics
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P (Polynomical)
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Can be solved in polynomical time
NP (Non-deterministic Polynomical)
Can be checked in polynomial time
 NP does NOT stand for “not-polynomial”!!
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NP-Complete
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The “hardest” NP problems
“Philosophy” of OI Competitions
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Objective of Competition…
The winner is determined by:
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Fastest Program?
Amount of time used in coding?
Number of Tasks Solved?
Use of the most difficult algorithm?
Highest Score
Therefore, during a competition, aim to get highest
score, at all costs – “All is fair in love and war.”
Scoring
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A “black box” judging system
Test data is fed into the program
Output is checked for correctness
No source code is manually inspected
How to take advantage (without cheating of
course!) of the system?
The OI Programming Process
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Reading the problems
Choosing a problem
Reading the problem
Thinking
Coding
Testing
Finalizing the program
Reading the Problem
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Usually, a task consists of
Title
 Problem Description
 Constraints
 Input/Output Specification
 Sample Input/Output
 Scoring
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Reading the Problem
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Constraints
Range of variables
 Execution Time
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NEVER make assumptions yourself
Ask whenever you are not sure
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Read every word carefully
Make sure you understand before going on
Thinking
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Classify the problem
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Draw diagrams, use rough work, scribble…
Consider special cases (smallest, largest, etc)
Is the problem too simple?
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Graph? Mathematics? Data Processing? Dynamic
Programming? etc….
Some complicated problems may be a combination of the
above
Usually the problem setters have something they want to test
the contestants, maybe an algorithm, some specific
observations, carefulness etc.
Still no idea? Give up. Time is precious.
Designing the Solution
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Remember, before coding, you MUST have an idea
what you are doing. If you don’t know what you are
doing, do not begin coding.
Some points to consider:
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Execution time (Time complexity)
Memory usage (Space complexity)
Difficulty in coding
Remember, during competition, use the algorithm that
gains you most score, not the fastest/hardest algorithm!
Coding
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Optimized for ease of coding, not for reading
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Ignore all the “coding practices” outside, unless you find them
particularly useful in OI competitions
No Comments needed
Short variable names
Use less functions
NEVER use 16 bit integers (unless memory is limited)
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16 bit integer may be slower! (PC’s are usually 32-bit, even 64
bit architectures should be somewhat-optimized for 32 bit)
Coding (2)
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Use goto, break, etc in the appropriate
situations
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Never mind what Djikstra has to say 
Avoid using floating point variables if possible
(eg. real, double, etc)
Do not do small (aka useless) “optimizations” to
your code
Save and compile frequently
See example program code…
Testing
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Sample Input/Output
“A problem has sample output for two reasons:
1.
2.
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To make you understand what the correct output format is
To make you believe that your incorrect solution has solved
the problem correctly ”
Manual Test Data
Generated Test Data (if time allows)
Boundary Cases (0, 1, other smallest cases)
Large Cases (to check for TLE, overflows, etc)
Tricky Cases
Debugging
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Debugging – find out the bug, and remove it
Easiest method: writeln/printf/cout
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It is so-called “Debug message”
Use of debuggers:
FreePascal IDE debugger
 gdb debugger
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Finalizing
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Check output format
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Any trailing spaces? Missing end-of-lines? (for printf users,
this is quite common)
better test once more with sample output
Remember to clear those debug messages
Check I/O – filename? stdio?
Check exe/source file name
Is the executable updated?
Method of submission?
Try to allocate ~5 mins at the end of competition for
finalizing
Interactive Tasks
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Traditional Tasks
Give input in one go
 Give output in one go
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Interactive Tasks
Your program is given some input
 Your program gives some output
 Your program is given some more input
 Your program gives more output
 …etc
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Example
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“Guess the number”
Sample Run:
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Judge: I have a number between 1 and 5, can you guess?
Program: is it 1?
J: Too small
P: 2?
J: Too small
P: 3?
J: Too small
P: 4?
J: Correct
P: 5?
J: Too big
P: Your number is 4!
Open Test Data
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Test data is known
Usually quite difficult to solve
Some need time consuming algorithms, therefore you are given a
few hours (i.e. competition time) to run the program
Tricks:
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ALWAYS look at all the test data first
Solve by hand, manually
Solve partially by program, partially by hand
Some with different programs
Solve all with one program (sometimes impossible!)
Make good use of existing tools – you do not have to write all the
programs if some are already available! (eg. sort, other languages, etc)
Tricks
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“No solution”
Solve for simple cases
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Hard Code
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50%
Special cases (smallest, largest, etc)
Incorrect greedy algorithms
Stupid Hardcode: begin writeln(random(100)); end.
Naïve hardcode: “if input is x, output hc(x)”
More “intelligent” hardcode (sometimes not possible): pre-compute the
values, and only save some of them
Brute force
Other Weird Tricks (not always useful…)
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Do nothing (e.g.. Toggle, IODM)
Pitfalls / Common Mistakes
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Misunderstanding the problem
Not familiar with competition environment
Output format
Using complex algorithms unnecessarily
Choosing the hardest problem first
Advertisement (targeted ad)
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NOI/IOI use Linux as competition environment
exclusively
We are thinking of providing Linux only environments
for upcoming team formation test(s)
Linux, when used properly, can be more powerful than
Microsoft Windows TM for contests, because it has
more powerful tools
Eg. Command Line tools, Powerful Editors (vim,
emacs), etc.
The End
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Note: most of the contents are introductions only. You
may want to find more in-depth materials
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Books – Introduction to Algorithms
Online – Google, Wikipedia
HKOI – Newsgroup, training websites of previous years,
discuss with trainers/trainees.
Training – Many topics are further covered in later trainings
Experience!
Any Questions?