Ada-Belgium's Ada Contest - Frequently Given Answers

What is Pre-Registration?

We'd like to know who you are, what your background is, whether you are working alone or in a group, if this project is new for the contest or is something you've been working on already and whether you are working on it for yourself, as part of a study program or as part of your work. Firstly we're just plain interested who is out there and what they are doing but also we'd like to plan the work of the judges - notably figure out if we need to draft in a few more.

What kind of entries are we looking for?

Ideally we'd like a killer app of such universal application and high quality that makes Ada a household word. Failing that we'd like a neat little thing that impresses a few people who into considering Ada for their next project. Or we'd like to find something useful that can be used or re-used, either the application submitted or something about the way it was written. If nothing else we'll settle for an entry that will interest and/or amuse the Ada community, for example because it is done so well.

What does "good use of Ada" mean?

Additional to its published syntax and semantics, every language has idioms; typically these are short sequences of code that achieve a lot. Identifying and using the idioms is part of mastering any language and we'd like to see some sign of this mastery. However, unlike the popular ethos in some other programming languages, terseness is not to be valued above all else - Ada is designed for readability; don't fight that.

Why four hundred Euro?

We figured we might get some interest from students, traditionally an impecuneous lot, and the sum of four hundred Euro seemed about enough to upgrade a PC or buy a DVD player or such motivational gadget. And its a firm offer; the first prize is this much. We have some other funds available and we're waiting to see what kind of entries we get before we decide what to do with them.

I'd like to enter the contest. What do I need to submit?

The contest announcement together with these "Frequently Given Answers" specifies the material we're looking for, and the criteria we'll use to judge the submissions. We're trying to be as flexible as possible so there isn't really a strict "procedure".

Basically, before the end of January 7, 2002, you should send to the contest e-mail address a tar-gzip or zip archive with all files you want us to consider for the contest. The judges will look at these files only, so include everything you deem interesting to convince them of the quality of your submission. They won't read a few hundred pages, though, so if needed indicate the most interesting parts of your source. Items you might submit in addition to the Ada source code (full or extracts): highlights, build instructions, a makefile, a design document, other documentation, an article, web-pages, screen shots, etc, etc.

Can I get another answer?

Yes: just send your question to ada-belgium-contest@cs.kuleuven.ac.be.

To the Ada-Belgium home page. To Ada-Belgium's Ada Contest home page.

Last update: 2002/01/04. [UPDATE]

Andrew Hately & Dirk Craeynest