Home on MSOE OpComp

2019 Instructions (Servlet Website)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000


msoe.edu > OP > Instructions

OP 2019 Computer Competition Instructions

by Dr. Robert Hasker
contributions by Drs. D. Rothe, E. Durant, H. Welch, and C. Tritt
Friday 22 November 2019

2021 Rules

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000


msoe.edu > Op > Rules

Op 2021 Computer Competition Rules

by Dr. Robert Hasker
contributions by Drs. D. Rothe, E. Durant, H. Welch, and C. Tritt
Friday 19 November 2021

2022 Data Files

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000


msoe.edu > Op > Data

Op Computer Competition Data and Other Files

NOTE: All files should be downloaded using the Right-Click (Save link/target as …) feature of your browser. DO NOT cut and paste from the browser window.

Competition Instructions

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

MSOE OP 2026 Computer Competition Instructions

Setting Up Your Laptop
Using Intellij for Java Projects
Using BlueJ for Java Projects
Using Java from the Command Line
Using Microsoft Visual Studio for C++ Projects
Using Spyder for Python Projects
Using Anaconda for Python Projects
Finding Data Files
Submitting Programs

Setting Up Your Laptop

MSOE Laptops

Click on the “Sign in” button on the welcome screen. No password is needed.
Laptops have been configured to access wireless network “MSOE-Guest”. Ensure you are connected to this network.

Note: Occasionally, the laptop may ask if you want to download and install various updates. You should always decline these prompts.

Competition Rules

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

MSOE Op 2026 Computer Competition Rules

Friday, Nov. 20 2026

Timeline

Check-in begins at 7:30am on the 1st floor of Diercks Hall on the MSOE campus, 1025 North Broadway Street in Milwaukee. Teams (up to four high school students) will be assigned a work space in either Diercks Hall or the ITC (Innovation & Technology Center, the space on campus used by Direct Supply).
Team names are limited to 30 characters (including spaces).
Teams have until 8:40am to organize. Read the rules (in this document) to avoid doing something leading to disqualification, and read through the detailed instructions to learn how to submit.
Teams are to direct questions to the MSOE student volunteers. They will be available in the competition areas. They can help teams with various technology issues related to laptops, development environments, network connections, and connecting to the OpComp server.
The competition starts at 8:45. Problem packets will be handed out at that time, and some problems may be made available through the OpComp server. See below for rules about resources teams can use during the contest.
Scores will be available in near real-time on the competition website. The scoreboard will go off line close to the end of the competition so teams can focus on solving problems.
The contest ends at 11:15am. At that time, teams return borrowed laptops with power cords, clean work spaces, collect coats and other belongings, and find seats in the NVIDIA auditorium in Diercks Hall.
At about 11:25, an MSOE faculty member or advanced student will give a short, technical talk on a current computing topic.
Contest winners are announced by noon.
The event is over shortly after noon. All participants should double-check that they have all of their belongings before leaving the auditorium. Admissions staff will be available to answer questions about MSOE.

Resources

The contest is meant to be fun, not a test of who can use Generative AI the best. Solutions must be written by the teams. In particular, typing problem statements (or portions of statements) into AI systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot, web search engines, or IDEs is not allowed. Generated AI solutions can have markers that indicate the solution was created by an AI system. Clear violations of this rule will result in disqualification.

Data Files

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000


msoe.edu > Op > Data

Op Computer Competition Data and Other Files

NOTE: All files should be downloaded using the Right-Click (Save link/target as …) feature of your browser. DO NOT cut and paste from the browser window.

Practice Session

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

OP Computer Practice Session

Created by Dr. Robert Hasker

Getting Ready for OP!

Review rules and instructions.
Start your computer.
Select your programming environment. IntelliJ is recommended for Java, but BlueJ, Eclipse, and command-line are also available; Microsoft Visual Studio is available for C++; and Anaconda and PyCharm are available for Python.
Write a “HelloWorld” program in your selected environment. MSOE student volunteers will be available to help with this.
The competition problems will require user input. Write a practice program that will prompt the user to enter a piece of data (string or number) and echo the entry back to the console. In Java, you would likely use the Scanner class for this. In C++, you would likely use std::cin. The practice solution must be named Practice.java, practice.cpp, or practice.py (as appropriate).
Competition problems often require you to read data from a text file. If you have time, use your development environment to create a text file with your school name in it, then write a program to prompt the user for the name of a file, open the file, read every line from it, and display those lines on the screen.
In your remaining time, get comfortable, and practice on these: Sample problems from 2003 competition (PDF)

Notes:

All file locations discussed in the instructions are recommendations, not requirements. You may set up the projects and files in any fashion you choose. The contents of your laptop are not visible to the judges. Only the source files that you submit via the scoring website will be used for evaluation.
Each team will use two laptops. While the laptops have access to the network for file submission, the laptops are not networked to each other. If you need to share files among the laptops, you will need to use a flash drive (not provided).
Be sure you use just two laptops, regardless of whether you are using the MSOE laptops or your own.
Note the tie-breaker is quality of solution. We have had several contests go to tie-breakers in the past few years!

Home on MSOE OpComp

2019 Instructions (Servlet Website)

OP 2019 Computer Competition Instructions

2021 Rules

Op 2021 Computer Competition Rules

2022 Data Files

Op Computer Competition Data and Other Files

Competition Instructions

MSOE OP 2026 Computer Competition Instructions

Contents

Setting Up Your Laptop

MSOE Laptops

Competition Rules

MSOE Op 2026 Computer Competition Rules

Friday, Nov. 20 2026

Timeline

Resources

Data Files

Op Computer Competition Data and Other Files

Practice Session

OP Computer Practice Session

Getting Ready for OP!

Notes: