FAQ for MCC 2016

Eligibility
Competition
Learn Python
- How do I learn Python?

Eligibility

What are the age requirements for MCC?

All participants must be no older than 20 years old (i.e., born on or after 1 July 1996), and must not yet have enrolled in their first year of university. Students at any pre-university program (Foundation, A-levels, IB, Diploma) are eligible to participate.

I am currently home-schooled. Can I participate?

Yes.

I am currently in primary school. Can I participate?

Yes. All primary school participants compete in the Junior level. In the registration form, please enter Form 1 (since we do not have a category for primary school).

I am a Malaysian student studying abroad. Can I participate?

Yes. Please register as an Independent Participant.

I am a non-Malaysian student currently attending school in Malaysia. Can I participate?

Yes. In the registration form, please leave the IC field blank.

I am a non-Malaysian student currently attending school outside Malaysia. Can I participate?

We are planning to invite a small number of participants outside Malaysia through their country’s IOI establishment. For the time being, however, we do not open the contest to international students. This might change in the future.

If I participate, will I get a certificate?

Yes. Each participant will receive a certificate of participation. Each award winners will also receive a certificate of award. The certificates will be mailed to the participating schools before the end of the Malaysian 2016 school term. For independent participants, the certificates will be mailed to your home address.

What if I cannot make the MCC 2016 date of 1 Oct due to prior commitments that cannot be cancelled?

Please contact us at mcc [at] ioimalaysia [dot] org to explain your situation. We may grant unofficial participation on a later date, on a case-by-case basis.

Competition

How do I register for a HackerRank account?

Please register on HackerRank.

My program outputs the correct answer for the sample input – why is the online judge saying that it is incorrect?

Check your thinking again – your program might work for the sample input, but not for the hidden test cases.

My program works perfectly on my computer – why is the online judge saying that it is incorrect?

Firstly, check your thinking again – have you considered the edge cases? Secondly, check that your program produces output in the format specified.

Do I need to submit code for the contest?

Yes.

If the answer is `2 3` will I get the correct answer if my program outputs `2,3` or `2-3` instead?

No. Please follow the specified output format correctly. The grader can only judge your output as correct if it is in the same format as specified.

Is it compulsory to learn how to program to participate in MCC?

Yes. If you have no prior programming experience we recommend starting with Python 3. See below for a list of resources.

Is it compulsory to learn Python to participate in MCC?

No, you may use any language you like from our list of allowed languages. However, we recommend Python since it is one of the most beginner-friendly of all the standard programming languages, and would be helpful to solve the challenging tasks. If you already know one of the other allowed programming languages (e.g. C++ or Java), you can use it as well.

I do not have time to learn programming, can I still solve the MCC tasks?

No. All solutions have to be programmed.

How difficult is the MCC?

MCC problems require no advanced algorithmic knowledge (unlike the MCO), only programming knowledge and some problem-solving skills. See MCC 2015 for past year problems.

Many MCC participants have no prior programming experience, and learning Python is perhaps the gentlest way to start programming. Once you know how to program in a certain language, the skill can be easily transferred to other languages.

Are the competition problems the same for all categories (Bongsu, Muda, Sulung)?

Yes. However, cutoff for award winners will differ by category.

Learn Python

How do I learn Python?

Below is a list of recommended resources to learn Python, and also tools that might help with your learning: