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code::XtremeApps:: - Singapore’s 24-hour Computer Programming Competition Returns

Contestants under the Open Category will compete strictly within 24 hours to develop a Web 2.0 application based on a given theme using next-generation tools including IBM Project Zero and Adobe AIR

Singapore, 17 April 2008 -- The Information Technology Standards Committee (ITSC) is pleased to announce the return of code::XtremeApps::, Singapore’s round-the-clock computer programming competition that was first held in September last year. Besides targeting at tertiary students and practising industry professionals, this year’s competition will include a Junior Category, inviting children 12 years and below to complete a task creatively based on a given theme using Alice, an innovative 3D programming tool that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the Web.

code::XtremeApps:: aims to promote programming education, create greater awareness on the use and value of standards in programming, and cultivate programming interest especially among the young. It also seeks to identify future infocomm talent and put Singapore on the world map for innovation, as well as to demonstrate that programming can be fun and exciting.

Under the Junior Category, contestants will be required to participate in teams, with up to three members in each team, and each team must have an adult 21 years or older as its supervisor. Participating teams are to create a Alice programme with a runtime of less than 2 minutes based on the theme that will be announced in end May at the training sessions and ITSC website. Competition entries are to be submitted by June 23.

Alice (http://www.alice.org) is a freely available software tool developed by the Carnegie Mellon University for young learners to grasp fundamental programming concepts through animations. By manipulating the objects in the virtual world of Alice, children can gain experience with the programming constructs typically taught in an introductory programming course, and develop logical thinking skill useful in problem solving.

Training sessions will be conducted at Nanyang Girls’ High School from May 26 to May 30 to help contestants learn more about Alice prior to the competition. The judging of team entries will be conducted at Nanyang Girls’ High School on June 27 whereby three winning teams will be selected to win attractive gaming consoles and Adobe software. There will also be 10 consolation prizes worth up to S$100 for each team to be won. Updates on the training sessions are available on the ITSC website at http://www.itsc.org.sg.

“In the true spirit of code::XtremeApps::, we have included a category this year for children 12 years and below to inspire them to start extending their creativity to the online universe, and to demonstrate that computer programming can indeed be appreciated at a young age,” said ITSC Chairman Robert Chew. “Due to overwhelming response received from last year’s competition, we have also increased the scale of this year’s event by affiliating it with the National Infocomm Competition, organised by the IDA, for the polytechnic and ITE circuit. This will allow contestants under the Open Category who represent their polytechnics or ITEs to qualify for the grand prize of the National Infocomm Competition.”

For the Open Category, contestants are invited to form a team of maximum three members to take part in the competition. For those under the age of 18, parental consent is required for entry.

Each team will be given strictly 24 hours to conceive and develop their Web 2.0 applications based on the competition theme using IBM Project Zero and Adobe AIR frameworks. They are also given the option to incorporate other programming tools such as Java, PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), Ruby on Rails, application programming interfaces (APIs) for Google and Facebook, as well as OpenLaszlo. The 24-hour competition will be held at the Singapore Management University on July 19.

IBM Project Zero (http://www.projectzero.org) offers an environment for building applications based on popular online technologies, including a scripting runtime for Groovy and PHP, APIs for developing REST-style (Representational State Transfer) services and capabilities for mashups and rich Web interfaces. It is designed to enable faster, more productive development and deployment of Web applications and Web-based services, and to allow software developers to spend more time writing actual code instead of complex configuration files.

“IBM is strongly committed to developing the future skills of the student community in open standards computing. This competition is another example of that dedication,” said Rahul Vadgama, Technical Sales Manager, Software Group, IBM Singapore. “Open standards bring together diverse technologies to interact seamlessly. Web 2.0 is doing the same thing for the Web, bringing together diverse applications and their users to create new and useful Web content. We are working to encourage a generation of students who will make key contributions to develop open and modern Web applications on leading-edge IBM technologies like IBM Project Zero. The competition allows students to have fun and be innovative on open standards based technologies which deliver greater ease of use and access to new form of Web technologies.”

Adobe AIR furthers the Adobe technology platform for rich Internet applications (RIAs) and allows software developers and designers to rapidly create and deploy rich online content and applications that work across operating systems. Developers using Adobe AIR can build highly engaging, visually rich applications that combine the power of local system resources and data with the reach of the Web. More information about how Adobe AIR is being used to build compelling online applications can be found at http://www.adobe.com/go/airshowcase.

“We are delighted to partner ITSC and supporting its vision of putting Singapore on the world map as a budding hub for innovation. In addition, code::XtremeApps:: provides an excellent platform for Adobe to engage young people and teach them how they can create vividly compelling online content and applications which will serve to further enrich and nurture their computer programming skills,” said Ashley Wearne, Managing Director, South East Asia, Adobe Systems.

A series of training sessions will be provided to help interested participants learn more about the development tools prior to the competition. These will be held from May 28 to June 4.

All entries under the Open Category will be judged by a panel of industry experts and practitioners appointed by the ITSC based on the following criteria:
• Innovation (30%) – key idea or concept behind the application
• Value/Usefulness (25%) – prospective social or commercial value that the application offers
• Usability and Aesthetics (20%) – User-friendliness and overall design of the application interface
• Sophistication (15%) – level of sophistication in terms of development effort or use of technology
• Extensibility (10%) – whether the developed application can be expanded upon for new functionalities

Three winning teams will be selected to walk home with attractive cash prizes of up to S$9,000 for the first prize winning team.

For more information and regular updates about the competition, please visit http://www.itsc.org.sg or the code::XtremeApp:: 2008 Facebook Group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10818226987.

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About ITSC:
The Information Technology Standards Committee (ITSC) was formed in 1990, under the purview of the Standards Council appointed by SPRING Singapore. It is an industry-led effort made up of volunteer members from the industry, and supported by SPRING Singapore and IDA Singapore. It is a neutral and open platform for interested industry and government parties to come together to agree on technical standards.

ITSC promotes and facilitates the national Infocomm standardisation programmes and the participation of Singapore in international Infocomm standardisation activities. ITSC fulfils its role by appointing the various technical committees and work groups to develop Singapore Standards where no international or industry standards exist and/or recommend the adoption of international standards as Singapore Standards. The participation in local and international standardisation efforts are also done through the appointed technical committees and working groups. There are at present some 350 technical experts and representatives from 180 organisations, engaging in ITSC's standardisation activities. For more information, please visit http://www.itsc.org.sg.

Media Contacts:
Tony Tan
Manning Selvage & Lee
Tel: (65) 9048 6981
E-mail:
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Submitted by TonyTan@MS&L, Manning Selvage & Lee on Thursday, 17 April 2008 at 6:07 PM
Category: Consumer Technology