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Tackling Advent of Code: A Yearly Language-Switching Journey

·3 mins

For the past few years, I’ve been diving into Advent of Code, the annual Christmas themed coding challenge that drops a new puzzle every day from December 1st to 25th. What started as a fun way to sharpen my skills has turned into a personal tradition each year, I pick a different programming language to tackle the problems. It’s a mix of masochism and curiosity. Pushing myself to learn, adapt, and solve under pressure. Here’s a rundown of the project, my approach, and where it’s all hosted.

What’s This All About? #

Advent of Code is a playground for programmers. Each day brings a fresh challenge split into two parts, ranging from tricky algorithm tweaks to parsing text files or simulating bizarre scenarios. The problems touch on optimizing performance, data structures, traversing graphs, or even dipping into dynamic programming. It’s the kind of thing that keeps you up at night, wondering why your solution takes 10 seconds instead of 10 milliseconds.

My twist? I switch languages every year. It’s a chance to step out of my comfort zone, wrestle with new syntax, and see how different tools handle the same job. Here’s the lineup so far:

  • 2023: Python
  • 2022: Rust
  • 2021: Kotlin
  • 2020: C#

You can check out all the code in my GitHub repo.

Why Switch Languages? #

Switching languages isn’t just for kicks it’s a deliberate way to have insight in the different languages. Every language brings its own flavor. By hopping between them, I get to see their strengths and quirks. It’s like a crash course in comparative programming.

Plus, it forces me to rethink problems. A solution that’s a one-liner in a language might need a different strategy in another. It’s a grind, but it’s made me a better programmer more adaptable, more aware of what’s under the hood.

How I Tackle the Puzzles #

For each day’s challenge, I aim to deliver more than just working code. My solutions include:

  • Readable Code: Clear naming, logical structure—stuff you can actually follow.
  • Documentation: Comments or notes explaining the “why” behind the “what.”
  • Optimizations: If part two demands speed, I’ll profile and tweak until it hums.

Where It’s At Now #

This is an ongoing project. I’m chipping away at past years’ puzzles while gearing up for the next December run. The repo’s organized by year and day easy to jump in and browse. Right now, it’s a mix of polished solutions and works-in-progress, but it’s all there for anyone curious.

Check It Out #

Everything’s up on https://github.com/mubaarakhassan/adventofcode. Feel free to poke around, clone it, or throw feedback my way. If you’re into Advent of Code—or just want to see how these languages stack up—this might spark some ideas for your own coding adventures.