I’ve not spend much time blogging recently; this is because I have been puzzling through “The Python Challenge” - a sequence of 30 riddles intended to test the mettle of python developers.
Each challenge takes the form of a web-page; usually with a cryptic or hidden clue waiting to be found. If you have managed to identify the nature of the puzzle, the solution normally requires the player to write a short python script in order to discover the next password; These puzzles are devised in such a way to force the player to investigate rarely used python modules, or consider new ways of using the familiar ones.
For example, one puzzle has the player writing a script to extract a hidden message from something vaguely resembling a barcode hidden in an image; Having recognised that the image contains a coded message, the player must find a tool that will allow the message to be extracted, and if you are lucky, that contains a cryptic clue that will lead you on to the next puzzle.
The delight of the Python Challenge is the variety of techniques a developer must acquire in order to complete the sequence. Just like the real world, programming skill alone will not give you the solution; one must first recognise the problem and devise a strategy. Writing the program is usually the smallest part of each challenge – investigating the problem and ruling-out the various blind-alleys forms the bulk of it.
I’m on puzzle 10 out of 30, so you can expect me to stay quiet for the next week or so.
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