The programming tasks can all be solved in any of the available programming languages. The input and output operations are simple, allowing the contestant to concentrate on the algorithmic details. No special features of the programming environment are required, nor should they be used. Some knowledge of compiler options may also be an advantage. Furthermore, you should be able to use MS-DOS for tasks such as executing a program, changing the working directory and managing files.
Efficiency plays an important role in some tasks.
Whenever efficiency is important, then at least one test run will be included where the input is such that a correct, but nevertheless inefficient, program can also score some points. The only external communication allowed by the contestant's program is reading input files, writing output files and calling external functions in libraries, as specified in the task specification. In particular, you are not allowed to do any keyboard or mouse input, write to the serial ports, attempt to change any interrupt, create or use persistent files except those specified in the task specification. Any attempt to violate the above will result in disqualification and a score of 0. This is the case even if the program requires only one single value.