Contest Rules

The Rayan World Finals is a solo programming competition. Contestants work individually to solve a series of algorithmic problems within a duration of 3–4 hours. The goal is to solve as many problems as possible within the given time.

Contest Environment and Resources

• Each contestant will be provided with one computer pre-configured with approved software tools and compilers.
• The use of the Internet, mobile phones, or any other external electronic devices is strictly prohibited.
• Contestants may bring the following items to the contest: a natural language printed dictionary (unannotated), at most 25 pages of preprinted reference materials or code, and personal mascots such as stuffed toy animals. These items must be put on the desk during practice session, and are subject to judge’s inspection.
• Details about the contest environment and available tools are provided on the official contest environment page.

Problem Solving and Submissions

• The contest lasts 3–4 hours.
• Contestants are given multiple programming problems to solve, covering a range of algorithms and data structures.
• Solutions must be submitted through the contest system and are automatically judged for correctness.
• If a submission fails, the contestant is notified with limited feedback such as Compilation Error, Runtime Error, Wrong Answer, or Time Limit Exceeded.
• Contestants may resubmit corrected solutions as long as time allows.

Ranking and Scoring

• Contestants are ranked primarily by the number of problems solved correctly (more is better).
• If two or more contestants solve the same number of problems, ties are broken by the total time used.
• The total time is the sum of the time taken to solve each problem plus 20 penalty minutes for every rejected submission on problems that were eventually solved.
• Submissions resulting in Compilation Errors do not add penalty time.

Conduct and Disqualification

• Contestants must work independently and may not communicate with others during the contest, except authorized contest officials.
• Actions that disrupt the competition or give unfair advantage, such as attempting to access unauthorized files, modifying system settings, or interfering with others, will result in disqualification.
• All decisions made by the contest judges and administrators are final.