Facebook announced it’s first annual worldwide programming competition officially named as “Hacker Cup”. According to Facebook, The Facebook hacker cup is an annual worldwide programming competition where hackers compete against each other for fame, fortune, glory and a shot at the coveted Hacker cup.
Everything you need to know about Facebook Hacker Cup 2011
Update*: Facebook Hacker cup 2011 Registration is open now. Click here to Register yourself.
Before thinking anything about this competition read the notes below.
1. The Hacker Cup… ! What actually it is?
A: The Hacker cup is Facebook’s international algorithmic programming competition. The competition consists of three online rounds and a final onsite online round at Facebook Headquarters in the silicon valley city of Palo Alto, California, USA.
2. Am I eligible to participate?
A: You must be at least 18 years old to participate but, basically this competition is for Engineers because contestants will have to solve algorithm based problems and their programming skills will be tested. In India, these matters are taught and solved in Engineering/M.C.A colleges only.
3. When and where I can register myself for this competition?
A: Registrations will open from 20th of December 2010. Click here to visit Registration Page.
4. Do I need to pay registration fee?
A: No, Facebook is free, and always will be.
5. How many rounds will be held and when?
A: This competition consists of a Qualification round (online), two online rounds and a final onsite online round at Facebook Headquarters in the silicon valley city of Palo Alto, California, USA.
Qualification Round: The competition will start with 72 hour qualification round on 7th January 2011. In India, the qualification round will begin on 7th January 2011 at 5:30 AM and will end on 10th January 2011 at 5:30 AM. In qualification round each participants will have to face 3 problems and If they correctly solve at least one problem then they will be forwarded to Online Round 1.
Online Round 1: This round consists of three sub-rounds and each sub-round last 3 hours each. In India, This round will begin on 15th January 2011 at 8:30 PM and will end on 16th January 2011 at 5:30 AM. Qualifiers can participate in any of the three sub-rounds. Only 1000 contestants from each of the three sub-rounds will qualify to second online round. Hence, only 3000 participants will qualify to next round.
Online Round 2: In India, Second Online Round will start on 22 January 2011 at 8:30 PM and it will end on the same day, 22 January 2011 at 11:30 PM. Each participant will get only 3 hours to solve the problem sets. The 300 top scoring participants will receive an official hacker cup t-Shirt and only 25 top scoring participants will be notified via e-mail for the final round of the Hacker Cup.
Final onsite online Round: First, you don’t have to pay for your fly if you qualify for the final onsite online round. The final round will be held on 11 March 2011 at Facebook headquarters, Palo Alto, California, USA. Of course, only one person will be the winner of the 2010 Hacker Cup.
6. How I will be ranked and How I can win the Trophy?
A: Your problem solving skills and accuracy will rank you. Each problem will consist of 1 point. The contestants with highest scores will be forwarded to next round. Try Facebook Puzzles to test your skills.
7. Is there any syllabus or study material for the Hacker Cup? What kind of problems and algorithms will be asked?
A: No, there is no particular syllabus for the Hacker Cup and I don’t know that what kind of problems and algorithms will be asked but, I am sure that these languages will help you a lot.
- GNU C/C++ 4.2.3
- PHP 5.2.4
- Perl 5.2.4
- Python 2.5.2
- Sun Java 1.5.0
- Ruby 1.8.6
- Ericsson Erlang 5.5.5
- GHC Haskell 6.8.2
- INRIA Ocaml 3.10.0
I strongly believe that PHP, GNU C/C++, Python, Ruby and Perl are most important in above list. Concentrate on basics and do think.
8. What are the Prizes to be won?
A: First Prize is approx 
225000, Second prize is approx 90000, Third prize is approx 45000, Fourth Prize is approx 4500. Also, there are some Facebook goodies and Hacker cup t-shirts.
Visit Facebook Hacker Cup Page for more information and future announcements. I wish good Luck to the participants, Let the best coder win.
I carefully read point 5, found very interesting info according to indian timings. Point 5 and 7 are eye catching. Good work.
Hello Abhishek, Thank you for your comment. Yes I’ve converted the timings into IST.
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