Phitron and Problem Solving

Assalamu Alaikum, I am Sadat Alam Protik, a student of Phitron Batch-2. Through this post, I will share the story of how someone like me—who once knew nothing about Codeforces or CodeChef—has now achieved a 1200+ (Pupil) rating on Codeforces and a 1400+ (2-Star) rating on CodeChef. I will also share how I solved 200+ problems related to Data Structures and Algorithms, and over 350 problems across all online programming platforms. Additionally, I will share the story of an amazing journey with Phitron from the very beginning until now.

When I got admitted to university, I learned about the Phitron course from my elder brother. I enrolled immediately, and thus began our long journey. It is worth mentioning that I had absolutely no idea about Competitive Programming at that time. I had heard from a university friend that aspiring programmers participate in contests on a platform called Codeforces. But when I visited Codeforces back then, I couldn't understand anything about how it worked. And I didn't even know about CodeChef. Anyway, I learned C Programming at Phitron. With excellent classes, support sessions twice a day, and a live class once a week, my programming learning journey continued in a truly impeccable environment. Then came learning C++, Data Structures, and Algorithms. Along with this, the instructors introduced us to various online judges right from the start. There were daily quizzes after classes, as well as weekly exams, assignments, and contests. Over a period of 7 months, thanks to the tireless efforts of the respected teachers who took classes and assisted us in support sessions, I finally succeeded in mastering almost the entirety of programming—starting from that simple one-line code printf("Hello World!");.

Then began the journey of Competitive Programming. The "Xettabytes Programming Club" was formed with 50+ young programmers selected from among us. We had weekly live classes (where new problem-solving tricks were taught and demonstrated by solving problems), daily tasks to solve 4-7 problems, and we had to submit forms reporting whether we completed the tasks, how many we solved, or why we couldn't solve them. There were also daily support sessions, regular contests on Codeforces or CodeChef, and weekly Phitron contests. Additionally, we had special guideline sessions with respected senior programmers, where their experiences helped light our path.

Finally, after about 3+ months of this Competitive Programming journey, I have been able to achieve Pupil (1200+ Rating) on Codeforces and Two Star (1400+ Rating) on CodeChef. Besides, I have solved 350+ problems across platforms like Codeforces, CodeChef, AtCoder, SPOJ, etc. I also solved 200+ problems specifically related to Data Structures and Algorithms.

Our course journey is nearing its end. However, the respected instructors of the XPSC Club have announced that they will continue to provide all kinds of support to those who wish to continue Competitive Programming on their own. Finding such a platform is a huge blessing that cannot be expressed in words. I must mention one person—Jhankar Mahbub Sir. Despite being an incredibly busy person, he always checked in on us and often provided all sorts of help in special guideline sessions. I am eternally grateful to him and the entire Phitron team.

There is no end to learning. I heard somewhere that a great person once said, "I can do everything, yet I know nothing." We are the same. Our learning continues from birth to death. What I have achieved on Codeforces or CodeChef is not the end; I must continue the tireless effort to achieve even better ratings.

If we compare ourselves to a tree, the Phitron team planted my roots, gave me fertilizer and water, made me capable of growing, and helped spread my branches. Now it is time for me to spread my branches even further. If I find anything else to learn, I will definitely learn it. I want to say once again, I am eternally grateful to the entire Phitron Team for building this foundation of my life, and I send love from the bottom of my heart to the whole team.

Codeforces Username: protik0939

Codechef username: protik0939