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Thanks for the A2A.This is a very intelligent question as joining a test series is not the end but only the beginning. To get maximum benefit out of it, here are a few steps.For Prelims:Take 1.5–2 hours to solve a paper and 2 hours to analyse your mistakes.Learn from the Explanations provided. Without this, there is no point of any test series.Add the learning from Explantion in your notes so that your material to revise remains condensed.Maintain an Excel sheet to track your progress test wise. Also maintain a notebook to write the common errors you're making, something you think that you should have remembered and focus on those topics in next round of revision.The graph of progress should become better eventually.If you feel that questions are out of way (which happens a lot as coaching institutes are hard pressed for novelty), it's likely that you're right. So don't overthink those questions or go out of your way to mug specific facts. This is especially the case in topics like Culture where they ask lines from shlokas from XYZ Upanishad just because UPSC had asked Mundak Upanishad question back in 2014. So, refrain from those things as cost-benefit analysis should guide you.Focus on sectional tests for now that would help you in strengthening your core subjects like Polity, History, Economics. Try to see what you have missed. Try to incorporate learning of test series in those book margins so that you can discard those test papers and remain clutter-free.Solve test papers of many institutes. This should give you a flavor and your mind won't be structured to only one design of questions. But be careful, don't solve each and every paper. May be 10 papers of 3 coaching institutes which have some reputation. this number is just an indication though. Also, You may enrol in just one and borrow or buy for others.If explanations are not good, I would suggest not to go for that test series as it creates frustration and leads to wastage of time. Thus, pick up a test series based on quality of questions as well as the explanation.Make sure that you revise your test series learning 3–4 times to be able to use them in actual exam time.Remember, Even if UPSC has asked weird questions at times, there is no way that one can run after each of them. An element of luck and good guessing has to be tried and with good preparation of basics, you can pull that off.For Mains, it is trickier than Prelims. But here we go:Focus on developing content first and speed later.Analyse your tests after writing them and try to think of alternate ways of presentation that can improve your answer by taking lesser time. For eg, instead of writing a cyclic process, you could show it in an actual cyclical fashion. Use of some creativity, insertion of maps, etc can be thought of in these test seriesUsually, Mains tests take time to be checked. By the time, these are checked, aspirants move on to the next test. Make sure that whenever your test is returned after checking, you take an hour to read the comments. Many a times you'd disagree, so seek a clarification and don't accept everything as gospel. These institutes need to be held accountable for your sake.Try to learn points from their Model Answers and don't worry if these are not in word limit as institutes provide wide coverage in these answers. Note down extra points in your notes /diaryDon't focus on marks too much. None can match UPSC and you know it. So instead of taking this hard on you, just focus on your goal of self improvement. As you'd realise, marks are not the only way for that. Instead seek peer opinion when in doubt.Here also, do not go with one insitute papers only. Try for several. But don't join all of them (same as Prelims)Your speed should increase in a matter of 2–3 months. Monitor it with a watch. Fix the watch that you'd be using in the exam from today itself as it's always good to get habitual of these things.Use this test series to experiment with different pens and see what's best for you.Try to write on UPSC-like answer sheets as much as possible. Normally, these insitutes provide lesser space to write as they advertise on each page of sheet. Don't worry. You'd get more space in UPSC Sheets.Hope this helps! All the best :)

Pick a method that works best with your brain!There are probably dozens or even hundreds of different methods available for organizing thoughts and ideas. But for now, let’s simplify everything and focus on these 4:classicaldigitalvisualon the moveMethod #1. Classical.This is the traditional method and also my favorite way of organizing ideas: writing them down as notes. It helps to keep a notebook for different projects if you’re juggling several big goals you are working towards, which can be personal or professional. When you start a note, several things to think about are:The ultimate goal of the note: It can be to write down main concepts from a lecture or a book, to jot down useful resources you can research later, to develop an idea, to brainstorm alternatives to a problem, to put thoughts on paper about something important that you are experiencing.The main sections of your outline: These are the key concepts and takeaways that will help to jog your memory when you re-read the notes later.The most efficient organization method: These are different options you can select to make your notes easier to read and understand. You might want to break the material down into a list with bullets and sub-bullets (as dots, dashes, checkmarks, arrows), to highlight items in order of priority with a specific color (f.ex., green for key concepts, yellow for list items, orange for examples, blue for next steps). The key is to be consistent every time you create a new note, so your eyes and brain get used to the way you’ve put the information together.Method #2. Digital.This method is practical because our lives have become increasingly more digital, with a wide range of devices and apps at our disposal to accommodate our busy lifestyles. Select the app that can best help you streamline your work, depending on the type of project and complexity of task you are working on. For example:Spreadsheets (MS Excel or Google Sheets): These are best for organizing large volumes of information and tracking your work. Use them if you are generating large lists, tracking online resources for your research, creating monthly or weekly schedules and plans, or organizing your ideas in graph or chart formats.Evernote app: It is practical as a note-taking tool, similar to MS Word and Google Docs, because you can create separate notebooks by theme or project, and within each notebook you can create notes and organize them by adding tags. It’s a digital version of a traditional notebook, with the benefit of accessing it on your laptop as well as your phone.Wordpress platform: Much like other blogging platforms, Wordpress already has all the formatting in place. You can organize each note (or post) by creating separate topics and adding tags for easier referencing. If you are working on a project that might benefit others, it’s also a great idea to publish your blog so others can find it easily. But if you just want to use it only for yourself, you can save each post as a draft (and not publish it) or else set the visibility of the post to private.Notes app on your phone: Regardless of which mobile device you have, you should have a minimalist note-taking app preinstalled. This is an ideal way to write short notes when you’re en route to somewhere, waiting in a line at the grocery store, or whenever you want to jot down a few ideas quickly without having to go to a computer.Voice memo app on your phone: This is another practical way to organize ideas when you’re en route to somewhere, don’t have pen and paper handy, or don’t want to type. You can simply record your voice and then email the memo to yourself so you can hear it later and type it up or add it to your handwritten notes.Method #3. Visual.This can be a combination of graphics (images or drawings) and text to record your ideas in a more free-form way. For example:Creating a vision map: This is a creative way to organize ideas that are related to your personal development and aligned to your short as well as long term goals. It’s a practical way to take daydreaming to the next level and make your ideas more tangible and real.Using the teaching method: It’s a method that can help you strengthen your knowledge and confidence, boost memory and recall, and master a lecture or topic you’re interested in. When you use the teaching method, you exercise critical thinking by selecting key ideas to describe, explain, and elaborate on.Doing a SWOT analysis: This is a tool often used in a business setting for identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It’s useful in identifying unique characteristics of a company or product, in considering different solutions to a problem, or in just working on your personal goals and skill set. The benefit is that you visually separate the 4 areas so you can see where to focus your energy and attention. If you’re working on goal setting, here’s how to do a personal SWOT analysis.Method #4. On the move.There are times when your brain is working hard on identifying, organizing, separating and prioritizing ideas and thoughts without you having to type, write or draw anything. Stay focused whenever you’re on the move, whether it’s early in the morning, during your busy day, or later in the evening:In the morning, focus on one thing. If there’s one thing you can start practicing right away, it’s this method. This is a useful way to train your brain to start organizing your thoughts and priorities for each day with a simple question. It’s simple, it takes 5 minutes, and has many benefits including a boost in concentration, more focus, and more time to devote to what’s important in your life.In the morning and afternoon, brainstorm on the commute. That’s the perfect time to process new information you’ve absorbed at school, work, after reading something that is thought-provoking, or in anticipation of things you need to do. The benefit to this extra time is that you aren’t really in learning mode, but rather in reflection mode. It means you can think about what you are doing, why it’s important, what you need to improve, what you’ll need to do to take next steps, etc. You may not physically be taking notes as you process new information, but your brain is definitely doing its work this way!In the evening, do a walking meditation. Similar to your commute time, this is a useful way to consolidate ideas and thoughts, make sense of newly acquired information, organize things in your head, and make plans on what you can do to solve a problem or take the next step in your personal or professional development. Set aside at least 30 minutes at the end of the day to go outside (choose a location close to a park or a quiet area) and just walk. Take your time. Listen to music if that helps you think better. The meditative aspect kicks in with the rhythm of the pace you keep as you walk. It’s time to spend with yourself, and it’s necessary so that you can pause, reflect, and consolidate key concepts and ideas going through your mind.

Most comprehensive list ever.List of Lists☆NameDescription★★★Good Blog Post Resources about Algorithm and Data Structures — CodeforcesA collection of fantastic tutorial blog posts written by Codeforces users. Some intriguing ones include Palindromic Trees, Policy Based Data Structures, and a lot more.★★★Data Structures and Algorithms — CodeChef DiscussA very complete list of competitive programming resources. A must-have in your browser bookmark.★★★How to prepare for ACM — ICPC? — GeeksforGeeksA detailed walk-through of the preparations for ACM-ICPC.SyllabusesFind out what topics you need to learn.☆NameDescription★★★IOI SyllabusA detailed syllabus on which IOI contestants will be tested. This is still somewhat relevant to ACM-ICPC.★★★How to prepare for ACM — ICPC? — GeeksforGeeksA detailed walk-through of the preparations for ACM-ICPC.★★☆Programming Camp SyllabusA list of important topics in competitive programming with exercise problems.★★☆Juniors Training Sheet, by Mostafa Saad IbrahimSimple problems for newcomersTutorial WebsitesAwesome websites with great tutorials.☆NameDescription★★★Topcoder Data Science TutorialsA list of tutorials written by respected Topcoder members. Many top programmers started learning data sciences from here.★★★E-Maxx (Russian), (English)A tutorial website widely used and referenced in the Russian-speaking competitive programming community. Only a small fraction of the original site is translated into English, but Google Translate would work okay.★★☆Algorithms — GeeksforGeeksA website with a large archive of nicely written articles on different topics. It is a great complimentary resource for algorithm courses.★★☆PEGWikiA website with amazing in-depth wiki-like writeups on many topics. It's far better than those on Wikipedia in my opinion.★★☆Notes — HackerEarthA great crowdsourcing platform for tutorials. Also visit Code Monk.★★☆USA Computing Olympiad (USACO)Contains several training pages on its website which are designed to develop one's skills in programming solutions to difficult and varied algorithmic problems at one's own pace.★★☆basecsA blog with in-depth, illustrated tutorials on basic algorithms and data structures.★★☆Competitive Programming — CommonloungeShort video tutorials for beginner and intermediate concepts. Advanced tutorials selected from the best ones available on various CP blogs.★☆☆OLYMPIADS IN INFORMATICSAn international journal focused on the research and practice of professionals who are working in the field of teaching and learning informatics to talented student.★☆☆algolist (Russian)A Russian website devoted to algorithms of all sorts. Some topics listed on this website seems pretty interesting.★★☆演算法筆記 (Algorithm Notes) (Chinese)One of the most popular tutorial websites among the Taiwanese competitive programming community. The maintainer for this website spends immense efforts on researching algorithms.★★☆国家集训队论文 1999-2015 (Papers from Chinese IOI training camps) (Chinese)Papers from the Chinese IOI training camps. It's interesting for the fact that one can tell different regions emphasize different things.Open CoursesConsider beginning your competitive programming journey with these awesome courses!☆NameDescription★★☆Code Monk, by HackerEarthA fantastic step-by-step tutorial on the essential topics in competitive programming.★★★Stanford CS 97SI: Introduction to Competitive Programming ContestsOffers comprehensive lecture slides and a short list of exercise problems.★★☆How to Win Coding Competitions: Secrets of ChampionsA course by ITMO University on competitive coding on edX.★★☆Codechef's Indian Programming CampVideo Lectures from Codechef's Indian Programming Camp 2016. Lectures given by top competitive programmers like Sergey Kulik, Kevin Charles Atienza and Anudeep Nekkanti. Primarily focused on exploring these concepts by applying them to actual competitive contest problems.★★☆Reykjavik T-414-ÁFLV: A Competitive Programming CourseAn awesome course taught by Bjarki Ágúst Guðmundsson (SuprDewd). These lectures feature neat slides and a nice list of problems to practice.★★☆NCTU DCP4631: Problem Solving and Programming TechniquesA course on basic topics featuring good lecture slides.★☆☆Materials (English) from Arabic Competitive Programming ChannelSome materials (slides & source codes) covering a broad range of algorithmic topicsOpen Courses for Algorithms and Data Structures☆NameDescription★★★prakhar1989/awesome-courses#algorithmsA fantastic list of open courses offered by notable institutions (MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley ... etc.).★★★MIT SMA 5503: Introduction to AlgorithmsLectured by Prof. Charles Leiserson (one of the coauthors of Introduction to Algorithms) and Prof. Erik Demaine (a brilliant professor who has made remarkable breakthroughs in data science), the course offers great materials, accompanied by intuitive and comprehensive analyses.★★☆UIUC Algorithm Courselecture notes, homeworks, exams, and discussion problems covering a broad range of algorithmic topicsBooksA list of recommended books for competitive programming.☆NameDescription★★☆Competitive Programming, by Steven and Felix HalimThis book contains a collection of relevant data structures, algorithms, and programming tips. It's a well-received book. ... The first edition is free for download (pdf).★★☆Programming Challenges: The Programming Contest Training Manual, by Steven Skiena and Miguel RevillaThis book includes more than 100 programming challenges, as well as the theory and key concepts necessary for approaching them. Problems are organized by topic, and supplemented by complete tutorial material.★★☆Competitive Programmer's Handbook, by Antti Laaksonen (pllk)An introduction to competitive programming for aspiring IOI and ICPC contestants. Free to download (pdf).★★★Looking for a Challenge, written by a group of authors associated with the Polish OlympiadsMost of the problems described in the book are really hard but they are explained in such a way that even beginners can understand. It appears to be out of stock (as of Aug, 2016), but you can reserve one on their official website.★★☆Computational Geometry: Algorithms and Applications, by Mark de Berg, Otfried Cheong, Marc van Kreveld, Mark OvermarsThis is a well-written book which covers a broad range of computational geometry problems.★☆☆The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Programming Contests, by Nite NimajnebThis book is free for download (pdf). This book covers various topics relevant to competitive programming.★★★プログラミングコンテストチャレンジブック (Japanese), by 秋葉拓哉, 岩田陽一, 北川宜稔An absolutely phenomenal book. The contents, organized in a very coherent manner, are nothing short of amazing. ... 培養與鍛鍊程式設計的邏輯腦：世界級程式設計大賽的知識、心得與解題分享 (Chinese Traditional)★★☆算法竞赛入门经典 (Chinese), by 刘汝佳The Art of Algorithms and Programming Contests (English), 打下好基礎：程式設計與演算法競賽入門經典 (Chinese Traditional)★★☆算法竞赛入门经典——训练指南 (Chinese), by 刘汝佳, 陈锋提升程式設計的解題思考力─國際演算法程式設計競賽訓練指南 (Chinese Traditional)★★★算法艺术与信息学竞赛 (Chinese), by 刘汝佳, 黄亮An old-time classic. It's old but the contents in this book are still considered to be very difficult by today's standards.Books for Algorithms☆NameDescription★★★Introduction to Algorithms, by Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest and Clifford SteinAlso known as CLRS (taken from name initials), this book is often referred to as the "bible" for algorithms and data structures. It's one of the most popular textbooks for university algorithm courses. This book covered various algorithms and data structures in great detail. The writing is more rigorous and can be difficult to some.★★☆Algorithm Design, by Jon Kleinberg and Éva TardosThis book revolves around techniques for designing algorithms. It's well-organized and written in a clear, understandable language. Each chapter is backed with practical examples and helpful exercises. The chapter on network flow is highly praised by lots. ... The lecture slides that accompany the textbook are available on its official website.★★☆The Algorithm Design Manual, by Steven S. SkienaThe book is written in more readable text. Some find it comprehensive than other books. You can also find some good resources (including the author's own video lectures) on its official website.★★★Algorithms, by Robert Sedgewick and Kevin WayneThis book is neatly categorized, coupled with elaborate explanations and fantastic illustrations. It is used in some IOI training camps as a textbook.Books for Mathematics☆NameDescription★★☆Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, by Kenneth H. RosenDiscrete Mathematics is closely relevant to competitive programming. This book provides comprehensive materials on a wide range of topics including: Logics and Proofs, Sets, Functions, Sequences, Matrices, Number Theory, Recursion, Counting, Probablity, Graphs, Trees and Boolean Alegra to name but a few.★★☆Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science, by Ronald L. Graham, Donald E. Knuth, Oren PatashnikThe book offers a deeper insight into Discrete Mathematics with more emphases on number-related topics.★★☆Linear Algebra and Its Applications, by David C. Lay, Steven R. Lay, Judi J. McDonaldThe book does a brilliant job at bridging the gap between a physical system (for scientists and engineers) and an abstract system (for mathematicians).★★☆Introduction to Probability, by Charles M. Grinstead, J. Laurie SnellThis is a well-written introductory probabilities book. ... It's free for download (pdf) (released under GNU Free Documentation License).★★☆How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method, by G. PolyaAn old-time classic. In this book, the author provides a systematic way to solve problems creatively.Sites for PracticeGood online judge systems / contest platforms to practice.☆NameDescription★★★CodeforcesCodeforces is one of, if not, the most popular contest platforms out there. Currently maintained by Saratov State University, it features regular contests and countless awesome original problems. Additionally, every contest provides immediate helpful tutorials (usually) written by the authors themselves. Codeforces also houses a strong and engaging community. All in all, one would indeed learn and improve tremendously here.★★★TopcoderTopcoder has been around since 2001. Rich in history, It's considered to be one of the most prestigious organizations when it comes to technology competitions. Hundreds of SRMs gave birth to an abundant problemset. Problems here are typically more challenging than others and Topcoder therefore appeals to many elite programmers. The annual Topcoder Open (TCO) is also a widely-discussed event.★★★Google Code JamGoogle Code Jam is certainly one of the most highly-esteemed programming competitions. The competition consists of unique programming challenges which must be solved in a fixed amount of time. Competitors may use any programming language and development environment to obtain their solutions.★★☆CodeChefCodeChef is a non-profit educational initiative of Directi. It's a global competitive programming platform and has a large community of programmers that helps students and professionals test and improve their coding skills. Its objective is to provide a platform for practice, competition and improvement for both students and professional software developers. Apart from this, it aims to reach out to students while they are young and inculcate a culture of programming in India.★★★SPOJThe SPOJ platform is centered around an online judge system. It holds a staggering amount of problems prepared by its community of problem setters or taken from previous programming contests, some of which are great problems for practice (refer to the Problem classifiers section). SPOJ also allows advanced users to organize contests under their own rules.★★☆TimusTimus Online Judge is the largest Russian archive of programming problems with automatic judging system. Problems are mostly collected from contests held at the Ural Federal University, Ural Championships, Ural ACM ICPC Subregional Contests, and Petrozavodsk Training Camps.★☆☆HDUHDU is an online judge maintained by Hangzhou Dianzi University. It's home to many classic problems from the Chinese IOI scene.★★★AtCoderAtCoder is a new but phenomenal contest platform created by a team of highly-rated Japanese competitive programmers.★★☆Aizu Online JudgeAizu online judge is a contest platform and problem archive hosted by The University of Aizu. It has a lot of great problems from programming competitions in Japan.★★☆UVaAn old-school problem archive / online judge with rich history. Thousands of problems, including many classic ones, are featured here. However, it is strongly advised that you practice with uHunt following its "Competitive Programming Exercise" section.★★☆HackerRankHackerRank is a company that focuses on competitive programming challenges for both consumers and businesses. HackerRank's programming challenges can be solved in a variety of programming languages and span multiple computer science domains.★★☆POJPOJ is an online judge with many great problems maintained by Peking University. Most Chinese competitive programmers began their journey here.★★☆Project EulerProject Euler features a stunning set of good math problems. It also hosts a forum where people can discuss.★☆☆HackerearthHackerEarth is a startup technology company based in Bangalore, India that provides recruitment solutions.★☆☆Caribbean Online JudgeCOJ is hosted by University of Informatics Sciences (UCI, by its acronym in Spanish), located in Cuba. Feature ACM ICPC and Progresive constest styles, mostly from Caribbean and Latin American problem setters, also has problem classifier and contest calendar.★★☆CS AcademyNew in the competitive programming scene, CS Academy is a growing online judge that hosts competitions once every two weeks. It supports live chat, interactive lessons and an integrated online editor (that actually works).★★☆Russian Code CupProgramming competitions powered by Mail.Ru: почта, поиск в интернете, новости, игры Group. Competition consists of 3 qualification, 1 elimination and 1 final rounds. For each round contestants are given 4-8 problems which must be solved in a fixed amount of time.★★☆CodeFightsCodeFights is a website for competitive programming practice and interview preparation. It features daily challenges of varying difficulty, an archive of problems and regular (every 15 minutes) mini-tournaments. Good for beginners.Problem ClassifiersSites classifying programming problems.Choose a category (eg. DP) of interest and practice problems on that topic.☆NameDescription★★★A2 Online JudgeMixed★★★Problem ClassifierSPOJ★★☆UVa Online JudgeCP Book★☆☆Codeforces TagsCF (DP)★★☆HackerRankHackerRank★★☆Juniors Training Sheet, by Mostafa Saad IbrahimSimple problems for newcomers★★☆Lucky貓的 UVA（ACM）園地 (Chinese)UVa★★☆Topcoder problem archiveList of problems with categories and complexity levelsContest CalendarsCalendars for impending programming contests.(Never miss another contest!)☆NameDescription★★★Programming Contest Calendar — HackerRankGoogle Calendar export available★★☆clist.byAPI available for use★★☆Coding Calendar (Android App)★★☆Coder's Calendar: Android App, Chrome Extension, Firefox Add-on★★★CodeHorizon: iOS App, Android AppSites for QuestionsThese are great sites to ask questions.Paste your codes at ideone, pastebin or other sites to avoid formatting issues.☆NameDescription★★★CodeforcesFor quick answers, Codeforces is definitely the go-to place to ask about anything competition-related.★★★Competitive Programming — QuoraYou would typically get more elaborate answers on Quora, but you might not have your questions answered straightaway.★★★Competitive Programming — CommonloungeMost questions get a response in < 30 minutes. Questions can range from beginner simple questions to in-depth questions.★★☆Theoretical Computer Science Stack ExchangeThis place is generally for the academics, so don't ask questions about contest problems here.★★☆Algorithmic Competitive Programming Stack Exchange (proposed)Competitive programming enthusiasts on Stack Exchange are discussing whether to create a new competitive programming Q&A site.ImplementationsAlgorithm & Data structure implementations.☆NameDescription★★★CodeLibrary, by Andrey Naumenko (indy256)CodeLibrary contains a large collection of implementations for algorithms and data structures in Java and C++. You may also visit his GitHub Repository.★★★spaghetti-source/algorithm, by Takanori MAEHARA (@tmaehara)High-quality implementations of many hard algorithms and data structures.★★★kth-competitive-programming/kactl, by Simon Lindholm (simonlindholm) et al.A phenomenally organized, documented and tested team notebook from KTH Royal Institute of Technology. One of the most well-crafted team notebooks (contest libraries) I've ever seen.★★☆jaehyunp/stanfordacmStanford's team notebook is well maintained and the codes within are of high-quality.★★☆ngthanhtrung23/ACM_Notebook_new, by team RR Watameda (I_love_Hoang_Yen, flashmt, nguyenhungtam) from National University of SingaporeRR Watameda represented National University of Singapore for the 2016 ACM-ICPC World Finals. The items in this notebook are pretty standard and well-organized.★★☆bobogei81123/bcw_codebook, by team bcw0x1bd2 (darkhh, bobogei81123, step5) from National Taiwan Universitybcw0x1bd2 represented National Taiwan University for the 2016 ACM-ICPC World Finals. This notebook contains robust implementations for advanced data structures and algorithms.★☆☆foreverbell/acm-icpc-cheat-sheet, by foreverbell (foreverbell)A notebook with some advanced data structures and algorithms including some from the China informatics scene.★☆☆igor's code archive, by Igor Naverniouk (Abednego)A good notebook by Igor Naverniouk who is currently a software engineer at Google and part of the Google Code Jam team.Language SpecificsLanguages and other miscellaneous knowledge.C/C++☆NameDescription★★☆Power up C++ with the Standard Template Library — Topcoder: Part 1, Part 2An introductory tutorial on basic C++ STLs.★★☆Yet again on C++ input/output — CodeforcesLearn more about C++ I/O optimizations.★★☆C++ Tricks — Codeforces ... What are some cool C++ tricks to use in a programming contest? — QuoraPlentiful C++ tricks for competitive programming. Note that some should be used with care.★★★C++ STL: Policy based data structures — Codeforces: Part 1, Part 2Detailed introduction to the extra data structures implemented in GNU C++. The official documentation can be found here.★☆☆C++11 FAQ (English, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean)A list of FAQs regarding C++11 collected and written by Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++.Java☆NameDescription★★☆How to read input in Java — tutorial — CodeforcesLearn how to read input faster. This is a must-read for those who intend to use Java for competitive programming★★☆How to sort arrays in Java and avoid TLE — CodeforcesSome tips on how to avoid hitting the worst case of quick sort★★☆BigNum arithmetic in Java — Let's outperform BigInteger! — CodeforcesA basic but faster custom BigInteger class★★☆EZ Collections, EZ Life (new Java library for contests) — CodeforcesA Java library for contests written by Alexey Dergunov (dalex). ArrayList, ArrayDeque, Heap, Sort, HashSet, HashMap, TreeSet, TreeMap, TreeList and pair classes are implementedMiscellaneous☆NameDescription★★★Bit Twiddling HacksA huge compiled list of bit manipulation tricks.★★★Comparing Floating Point Numbers, 2012 Edition — Random ASCIIEverything you need to know about floating point numbers. A must read especially for geometry topics.★★☆Object-Oriented C Style Languages: C++, Objective-C, Java, C# — a side-by-side reference sheetA detailed side-by-side reference sheet for common syntaxes.ToolsAwesome tools that will make your life easier.IDEs☆NamePlatformDescription★★★VimCLI / Cross-PlatformVim is one of the most popular text editors among advanced programmers. It allows text-editing to be done very efficiently with solely keystrokes. Vim is also highly configurable, extensible and integrates with shells (command lines) really well. The only setback about Vim is that it has a high learning curve for beginners.★★★EmacsCLI / Cross-PlatformEmacs is another popular text editor (or development environment to be more precise). The debate on "Vim vs. Emacs" is constantly brought up due to their popularity. Basically Emacs is more than just a text editor. It has plugins like file managers, web browsers, mail clients and news clients that allows users to performs these tasks directly inside Emacs. Emacs is "heavier" because of this, but it arguably has a relatively easier learning curve for beginners.★★★Far ManagerHybrid / WindowsFar Manager is the most widely-used editor in the RU/CIS competitive programming community. It's actually a file manager in its bare bones, but you can install FarColorer — a syntax highlighter plugin to program on it. Properly configured, Far Manager allows you to navigate between files very efficiently while writing your codes.★★★Code::BlocksGUI / Cross-PlatformCode::Blocks is the go-to IDE for C/C++. It's a full-fledged, versatile IDE with numerous great features. Code::Blocks is usually provided along with Vim in programming contests.★★★IntelliJ IDEAGUI / Cross-PlatformIntelliJ IDEA is certainly one of the best IDEs for Java. It's used by most competitive programmers who use Java as their main language. Be sure to check out CHelper, a very handy plugin written for programming contests.★★☆Sublime TextGUI / Cross-PlatformSublime Text is an extraordinary text editor. Packed with powerful and innovative features like Multiple Carets, Minimaps and Command Palletes, it attracts a strong and engaging community. Sublime Text is highly extensible, so be sure to have Package Control installed and explore perhaps one of the largest catalogue of plugins!★★☆EclipseGUI / Cross-PlatformEclipse is another good IDE for Java. It's an okay alternative to Intellij IDEA (A tad inferior to IDEA by today's standards). Sometimes contests only provide Eclipse for some reason, so this might be a good incentive to try and use Eclipse.★★☆CLionGUI / Cross-PlatformCLion, produced by JetBrains — the same company who made Intellij IDEA, is a powerful IDE for C++. Free educational licenses are available OR you can try out their EAP (Early Access Program)which is still free as of Aug, 2016. You may want to turn off its code inspection feature as it will cause quite a bit of lag.★☆☆Other IDEsMixedVisual Studio is the IDE to use in case you want to code in C#, but beware that it will be a 7GB installation. ... Both Atom and Visual Studio Code are built with Electron (written in JavaScript) and therefore somewhat resource-hogging. ... CodeLite is a newly rising IDE. Beware that the load-up and project-creation times can be extraordinary.Personal use☆NameDescription★★★VisuAlgoA website featuring a large collection of visualization tools for algorithms and data structures.★★★General Practice Helpers: ... CHelper(IntelliJ IDEA) (manual) ... caide (Visual Studio, CodeLite) ... JHelper (AppCode, CLion)Great tools that parse contests, inline library codes and provide testing frameworks. They save you from spending your precious time on switching windows and copy-pasting back and forth.★★☆Codeforces Parsers: ... Codeforces Parser... GoCF ... cfparser (emacs)These tools parse Codeforces contest problems and help run sample tests.★★★The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS)A stunning encyclopedia with a database of countless integer sequences. It also features a powerful search engine. Sometimes a seemingly difficult combinatorics problem could be equivalent to a simple or studied integer sequence.★★☆Syntax Highlighters: ... tohtml.com ... markup.su ... hilite.meVery handy for creating slides or team notebooks with pretty, formatted code snippets. Just copy the highlighted code snippets and paste them in your favorite WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) editor!★★☆Code Sharing: ... Ideone.com ... Pastebin.com ... Ubuntu PastebinThese tools generate semi-permanent pages for code sharing. Very useful especially when you're trying to get someone else to look into your code.★★☆IneffableA simple command-line grader for local grading.★★☆uDebugA platform that provides expected outputs for user-specified inputs to problems on the UVa Online Judge. Some problems also provide additional test cases for debugging.Contest Preparation☆NameDescription★★★polygonpolygon provides a platform and a rich set of tools for professional contest preparation. ... An example: Validators with testlib.h — Codeforces★★☆Graph EditorA fantasic tool to create and visualize graphs.★★☆tcframeA C++ framework for generating test cases of competitive programming problems.★★★Virtual Judge (vjudge)Virtual Judge (vjudge) allows users to create virtual contests with problems from notable problem archives.★★☆BNU Online JudgeBNU Online Judge also allows users to create virtual contests.★★☆KattisKattis assists in contest preparation (E-mail them for assistance).CommunityMeet the god-like competitive programmers!Learn helpful tips, tutorials and insights from these people :)BlogsName (Handle)Blog NameCodeforces blogsPetr Mitrichev (Petr)Algorithms WeeklyMakoto Soejima (rng_58)rng_58's blogBruce Merry (bmerry)Entropy always increasesPrzemysław Dębiak (SomeGuyTookMyHandle)Psyho's blogAnudeep Nekkanti (anudeep2011)Namespace Anudeep ;)vexorian (vexorian)vexorian's blogAshar Fuadi (fushar)Fushar's blogLiJie Chen (WJMZBMR)WJMZBMR (Chinese)Huang I-Wen (doreamon, dreamoon)小月的耍廢日誌 (Chinese)Shiang-Yun Yang (morris1028)Morris' Blog (Chinese)Yuhao Du (TooDifficuIt, TooSimple, xudyh)xudyh (Chinese)Youtube and LivestreamsName (Handle)LinkPetr Mitrichev (Petr)YoutubeEgor Kulikov (Egor)YoutubeAdam Bardashevich (subscriber)YoutubeBohdan Pryshchenko (I_love_Tanya_Romanova)Twitch, YoutubeVladimir Smykalov (enot.1.10)Twitch, YoutubeAleksandar Abas (Alex7)YoutubeMostafa Saad Ibrahim (mostafa.saad.fci)Competitive Programming Youtube (Arabic Speech-English Text)Tushar RoyYoutube, with many tutorial videos.QuoraVisit Competitive Programming — Quora (Top 10 Most Viewed Writers).Important Community FiguresDescriptionBill PoucherExecutive Director of ACM-ICPC. CS Professor at Baylor University.Michal Forišek (misof)Organizer of IPSC and IOI. CS Teacher at Comenius University in Slovakia. Algorithm and CS Education Researcher. Former highly-rated competitive programmer.Ahmed Aly (ahmed_aly)Founder of A2OJ. HackerRank Lead Software Engineer. Former member of the Google Code Jam team.Competitive ProgrammersThanh Trung Nguyen (I_love_Hoang_Yen)Brian Bi (bbi5291)Jonathan Paulson (jonathanpaulson)Miguel Oliveira (mogers)Egor Suvorov (yeputons)Michal Danilák (Mimino)Bohdan Pryshchenko (I_love_Tanya_Romanova)Vladimir Novakovski (vnovakovski)Nick Wu (xiaowuc1)Cosmin NegruseriLalit Kundu (darkshadows)Ashish Kedia (ashish1294)Johnny Ho (random.johnnyh)Joshua Pan (lonerz)Anudeep Nekkanti (anudeep2011)Steven Hao (stevenkplus)Raziman T.V. (razimantv)Other Awesome ResourcesArticlesInformative and helpful articlesSubjectOverview of Programming Contests, by Przemysław Dębiak (Psyho, SomeGuyTookMyHandle)The 'science' of training in competitive programming — Codeforces, by Thanh Trung Nguyen (I_love_Hoang_Yen)If you ask me how to improve your algorithm competition skill, I will give you the link of this blog. — Codeforces, by Huang I-Wen (dreamoon, doreamon)How to prepare for ACM — ICPC? — GeeksforGeeks, by Vishwesh ShrimaliComplete reference to competitive programming — HackerEarth, by Ravi OjhaGetting started with the sport of competitive programming — HackerEarth, by Triveni MahathaFAQsFine answers to frequently-asked questionsQuestionHow do I start competitive programming? — QuoraHow can I become good at competitive programming? — Quora ... What is the best strategy to improve my skills in competitive programming in 2-3 months? — Quora ... What is a good 6 month plan to start and progress through competitive programming? — QuoraHow is competitive programming different from real-life programming? — QuoraWhat have you gained from competitive programming? — QuoraAwesome ListsRelevant awesome listsNameLinkC++ BooksThe Definitive C++ Book Guide and List — Stack OverflowJava BooksWhat are the best books to learn Java? — QuoraAdvanced Java BooksWhat is the best book for advanced Java programming? — QuoraAlgorithmstayllan/awesome-algorithmsAlgorithm Visualizationenjalot/algovisMathrossant/awesome-mathC++fffaraz/awesome-cppJavaakullpp/awesome-javaCoursesprakhar1989/awesome-coursesFree Programming Booksvhf/free-programming-booksInterview QuestionsNameDescriptionCareerCupThe most popular website for software engineering interview preparation.InterviewBitFeatures intriguing and refreshing game-play designs which are designed to invoke one's interest in practicing.Awesome InterviewsA curated list of awesome interview questions