Quiz FAQ
Is Ruby Quiz Still Active?
Yes, but it's under new management and this is no longer the site for the current challenges. After running three years worth of quizzes, I retired as quizmaster and passed the project on to some loyal fans. New quizzes are still posted to the Ruby Talk mailing list so look for them there if you want to participate. The rest of these questions are left as they were during my time overseeing the project for archival purposes.
What Is Ruby Quiz?
Ruby Quiz is a weekly programming challenge for Ruby programmers in the spirit of the Perl Quiz of the Week. A new Ruby Quiz is sent to the Ruby Talk mailing list each Friday. (Watch for the [QUIZ] subject identifier.) After a 48 hour no-spoiler period has passed, everyone is invited to contribute solutions and/or discussion back to the list. The following Thursday a Summary will be sent to the list, discussing the quiz, solutions and discussion. The next day, the cycle begins again.
Where Do I Find Ruby Quiz Messages?
Ruby Quiz messages are sent to the Ruby Talk mailing list each Friday. They're easy to spot because they have a [QUIZ] identifier in the subject line. Archives are maintained at this site.
What's This No-Spoiler Period?
We want everyone to have a chance to consider the quizzes before they are swamped with solutions. We use the Ruby Quiz to learn more about the Ruby programming language, not as a race. Please wait 48 hours from the time of the original quiz message before posting any spoiler material to the list. Non-spoiler discussion of the topic is allowed at any time, naturally.
Where should I send my solutions?
Ideally, solutions should be sent to the Ruby Talk mailing list for all to see and learn from. All solutions sent to Ruby Talk are archived with the quiz. If you do not subscribe to Ruby Talk, you may send your messages to me and I will forward them to the list for you. Solutions are easy to find if you reply to the original quiz message.
Is there an RSS feed for the quizzes?
Yes. You can find it at http://rubyquiz.com/index.rss.
Is the Ruby Quiz available in book form?
It is now, thanks to the endless support of the Pragmatic Programmers! You can visit the book's page at their site to learn more.
Is there a Ruby Quiz screencast?
I did a TextMate screencast using a Ruby Quiz as my subject, so quiz fans would probably enjoy that.
Can I Submit A Ruby Quiz Topic?
Please do! Ruby Quiz depends on community support. The only goal we try to follow with the quizzes is to keep them pretty short (30 minutes to an hour to solve for the average coder). This is obviously vague, so use your best judgment. We're interested in fun little diversions, not a massive time sink. Send all submissions to James Edward Gray II, the Ruby Quiz Administrator. Please indicate whether or not you would like to do the Summary for your topic in your submission message. Feel free to submit as often as you like.
Can I Submit A Golf/Obfuscated/Non-Ruby Solution To A Ruby Quiz?
While you can submit anything, I'll confess that the contest interest is in elegant, understandable, Ruby code. Nothing else is likely to gain much notice. Some people do like to work them in other languages and share with the appropriate communities though. For example, I am aware of the Haskell Quiz.
Can I Change A Few Rules In The Quiz Or Submit A Partial Solution?
Again, you can submit anything you like. There's no right or wrong answer to Ruby Quiz. The goals are to think, learn, and have a good time. You have to decide what does that for you. However, if I describe a specification in the quiz, that's what I'm prepared to examine, benchmark, test, and/or summarize. Please understand if an altered submission is not included in these results.
Who wrote all of these problems and summaries?
If there is a by-line at the beginning of a quiz or a summary, that's the author. Everything else was written by James Edward Gray II.
What is the copyright on Ruby Quiz material?
All quizzes, summaries, solutions, and discussion is assumed to be under copyright by the author, all rights reserved. If a solution is sent to me or posted to Ruby Talk for all to see, I assume it's okay to show in the summary. (Just add a note to the submission message if this is not the case.) All other material on this site is used with author permission.