Folks!! It’s almost December and nearly time again for the annual Advent of Code. For those not familiar, this is a set of 25 puzzles (each with two parts) set by Eric Wastl. They have a Christmas theme and story and are solvable with just a little programming knowledge and some puzzle-solving skills. The puzzles start quite easy and get increasingly more complicated, and part two can often be a lot harder.
A couple of years ago the Alteryx legend himself, @AdamR suggested we try solving them in Alteryx and so a new annual tradition began. In the past few years the amazing ACE @jdunkerley79 had run with this and now that he’s moved on to more amazingness, I and many of the ACEs didn't want to let this tradition end! It’s worth noting that the puzzles do not necessarily suit Alteryx, but trying to think about how to solve them is a great chance to sharpen your skills.
We created some rules - solving using "BaseA":
- No RunCommand tool
- No Python tool
- No R tool
- No SDK based Custom Tools (macros are fine)
- No Formula SDK extensions
- Download tool allowed for downloading (no posting to APIs to get answers from!)
We would love for you to join us!
- We have an Alteryx leaderboard you can join by going to https://adventofcode.com/2022/leaderboard/private/ and using the code 908788-a11e85b1.
- We are chatting on the Alteryx Community under the Advent of Code label as well as on our Advent of Code WhatsApp Group.
The leaderboard awards points by order in which they are solved. As the puzzles are published at midnight Eastern time, this gives those who live on the West Coast an advantage. Generally, this means it is fairest to look at total stars rather than points. For this year, you’ll see threads started each day for that day’s puzzles where you can either ask for help or post your solution much like weekly challenges (Don’t forget to hide your answer!). Also, A handful of us Aces will write up our solutions with some alternative solutions from other people every week as a summary for those who can’t keep up on the daily!
Again, if you are up for a challenge and wanting to grow your Alteryx skills then this is the event of the year for you and starts on Dec 1st!. Important! The leaderboard only supports up to 200 at a time so you need to jump in right away as it will fill up quickly. We all help each other, and you’ll get to work alongside the best Alteryx users in the world to really stretch the limits of what Alteryx can do!
Any questions? Please post below or join us on the WhatsApp group linked above! 😊
Please share far and wide to anyone using Alteryx at your organizations!
