C and C++ Programming Challenge Problems

Basic Programming Challenges

Temperature Converter Challenge

In this challenge, write a program that takes in three arguments, a start temperature (in Celsius), an end
temperature (in Celsius) and a step size. Print out a table that goes from the start temperature to the end
temperature, in steps of the step size; you do not actually need to print the final end temperature if the step size
does not exactly match. You should perform input validation: do not accept start temperatures less than a lower
limit (which your code should specify as a constant) or higher than an upper limit (which your code should also
specify). You should not allow a step size greater than the difference in temperatures.

Sample run:

Please give in a lower limit, limit >= 0: 10

Celsius Fahrenheit
------- ----------
10.000000 50.000000
14.000000 57.200000
18.000000 64.400000

Line Counting

Here's a simple help free challenge to get you started: write a program that takes a file as an argument and counts
the total number of lines. Lines are defined as ending with a newline character. Program usage should be

count filename.txt

and the output should be the line count.

File Size Challenge

In this challenge, given the name of a file, print out the size of the file, in bytes. If no file is given, provide a help
string to the user that indicates how to use the program. You might need help withtaking parameters via the
command line or file I/O in C++ (if you want to solve this problem in C, you might be interested in this article on C file
I/O).

String Permutation Challenge

Here is another mathematical problem, where the trick is as much to discover the algorithm as it is to write the code:
write a program to display all possible permutations of a given input string. Input should be of the form

permute string

and output should be a word per line.

Here is a sample for the input cat

cat
cta
act
atc
tac
tca
 Intermediate Programming Challenges

Factorial Challenge

Here's a challenge that's a bit more mathematical in nature. Write a program that determines the number of trailing
zeros at the end of X! (X factorial), where X is an arbitrary number. For instance, 5! is 120, so it has one trailing zero.
(How can you handle extremely values, such as 100!?) The input format should be that the program asks the user to
enter a number, minus the !.

String Searching Challenge

Write a program that takes two arguments at the command line, both strings. The program checks to see whether or
not the second string is a substring of the first (without using the substr -- or any other library -- function). One
caveat: any * in the second string can match zero or more characters in the first string, so if the input were abcd and
the substring were a*c, then it would count as a substring. Also, include functionality to allow an asterisk to be taken
literally if preceded by a \, and a \ is taken literally except when preceding an asterisk.

String Searching Challenge

Write a program that accepts a base ten (non-fractional) number at the command line and outputs the binary
representation of that number. Sample input is

dectobin 120

Pascal's Triangle Challenge

Write a program to compute the value of a given position in Pascal's Triangle.

1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1

The way to compute any given position's value is to add up the numbers to the position's right and left in the
preceding row. For instance, to compute the middle number in the third row, you add 1 and 1; the sides of the
triangle are always 1 because you only add the number to the upper left or the upper right (there being no second
number on the other side).

The program should prompt the user to input a row and a position in the row. The program should ensure that the
input is valid before computing a value for the position.

Linked List Reverse Printing Challenge

Using whatever programming techniques you know, write the cleanest possible function you can think of to print a
singly linked list in reverse. The format for the node should be a struct containing an integer value, val, and a next
pointer to the following node.

Linked List In-Place Reverse Challenge

This challenge, similar to the last linked list challenge, involves reversing a singly linked list--but this time, you must
not out the list but actually reverse the entire list in place. By in-place, I mean that no memory can be allocated. The
resulting code should be function that takes the head of a list and returns a the new head of the reversed list.
 Advanced Programming Challenges

Array Sum Challenge

In this challenge, given an array of integers, the goal is to efficiently find the subarray that has the greatest value
when all of its elements are summed together. Note that because some elements of the array may be negative, the
problem is not solved by simply picking the start and end elements of the array to be the subarrray, and summing
the entire array.

For example, given the array

{1, 2, -5, 4, -3, 2}

The maximum sum of a subarray is 4. It is possible for the subarray to be zero elements in length (if every element of
the array were negative).

Before you write the code, take some time to think of the most efficient solution possible; it may surprise you. The
major goal of this challenge is to test your algorithmic skills rather than merely your ability to write code quickly.

Self-Printing Program

Write a program that, when run, will print out its source code. This source code, in turn, should compile and print out
itself. (Fun fact: a program that prints itself is called a quine.)