Technology is growing each day and so are the coding languages. In each application or sphere of industry, we require some sort of coding knowledge.

Competitive programming is a way to solve big problems by thinking optimally. With increased problem-solving skills, we will be able to do well in a work environment and break down an issue in the least time.

It gives knowledge about the usage of data structures and algorithms in various fields making it easy to work. It makes you a more desirable candidate for major companies. Most companies host some contests where competitive programming is used.

It makes you faster and more focused, and taking part in a competitive programming quiz makes you more accurate. Practicing will make the programming very easy. It prepares the programmer to think logically and write code for challenging situations. Most companies hire the ones who know competitive programming.                            

It even teaches teamwork, dividing the responsibilities, and assessing tasks to team members, to complete the task on time.

How to learn competitive programming?

here are a few steps you should follow:

1. Choose a competitive language: there are many competitive languages. The language which you are comfortable with should be taken first.
2. Understand the concept of time and space complexity: the company may require the time it will take to run the program and give a solution and at that time you need to come up with the best solution.
3. Learning Data Structures and Algorithms: Array, Linked lists, stacks, queues, and trees are some parts of DSA that are part of competitive programming.
4. Solve Difficult problems: After learning the basics, you should start solving difficult problems. Don’t worry, if you get stuck or get the wrong result. With practice, everything is possible.

Some of the programming languages which you start are:

 1. C++:

C++ was developed in the early 1980s based on traditional definitions of C. Its structure is almost similar to C with more capabilities.C++ is the most efficient and used competitive programming language. It is widely used across the world. It has a standard template library, which is a collection of C++ templates and provides common data structures and algorithms to make it easy to write code. It is faster than any language. It is close to a low-level language and is much easier than Java.

Example :

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
	a = 12.123;
	b = 12.456;

	cout << min(a, b);

	return 0;
}

The output: 12.123

It uses cout statement to print the output and cin statement to take the input. It has a library for different operations. In this example, the min function is used to calculate the minimum between the two numbers. Similarly, we can calculate the maximum between two numbers.

2. Java

It was developed by Sun Microsystems and is similar to c and c++. It works on the concept of writing once, running anywhere. Having a platform-independent language which offers it a great performance. It has three components JVM, JDK, and JRE to help users execute a code. It has a rich library set and is always written in classes and objects. It can perform many tasks by defining multiple threads. Applets are programs that run on web browsers, java helps to create such ones.

Example:

class Test
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
int rollNumber = 30;
String name = “Hiral”;
System.out.println(“My name is ” + name + “ and my roll number is ” + rollNumber);
}
}

Here, we have class and we perform all the tasks inside it.

 3. Python

Python is a high-level language developed in 1991. It can be used in many applications beyond web development. It is an integrated language that is very easy and concise to read. It is used for both simple and complex tasks. Python is used in data science, web development, and app development. It is highly used in most companies because of the libraries it offers. A data analyst uses python language to deal with large sets of data and analyze them. Python language can help a lot in the automation of tasks as there are lots of tools available. It gives more than one value at a time.

Example:

n1 = input("First number: ")
n2 = input("\nSecond number: ")
sum = float(n1) + float(n2)
print("The sum of {0} and {1} is {2}" .format(n1, n2, sum))

It will help to print the sum of the numbers that the user inputs.

4. Ruby

It was developed in 1995. Ruby is an interpreted programming language that can be embedded into HTML. It has a similar syntax as that of C++. It has a rich set of built-in functions. Ruby uses a powerful blocks feature, but Python offers more libraries. It is a dynamic programming language that has no tough rules.  The code written is very small and used in web development applications.

Example:

class programe_1
def name
puts "Hello world!"
end
# end of class GFG
# creating object
obj = programe_1.new
Obj.name

5.Kotlin

It was first introduced by JetBrains in 2011. Kotlin is an object-oriented language and a “better language” than Java. It is one of the official languages declared as the Android development language. It provides many data classes and is safe to use. It explicitly typecasts the immutable values and inserts the value in its safe cast automatically. Kotlin is multi-platform and is used widely for web development and server-side development. The language offers features such as Type Interference, Smart Cast, and many more.

Example:

import java.util.Scanner

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    // input from standard input - keyboard
    val reader = Scanner(System.`in`)
    print("Enter a number: ")
    var integer:Int = reader.nextInt()

    // println() prints the following line to the output screen
    println("You entered: $integer")
}

There are many programming languages with which you can start. If you want to start with C++, you can go with C first to get a better idea of the language. Learn about the data structures and algorithms more and practice it as DSA is the most demanding topic in the coming years as the companies need an efficient method to manage the data and analyze it. Even after writing a single paragraph of code, we can perform many operations.

Each language takes time, patience, and reading more articles to know about the capabilities and the language with which you are comfortable. If you feel you are comfortable with Python, then learn it thoroughly after completing any one language, you will be very confident with other languages.

There are many contests and websites which help in competitive programming, one can register in it and build up skills. Prizes and certificates are given to the winners. There are training for a month or two to excel in the language.