| |
| Question: |
The announcement reads "up to $5000.00." Exactly what is the size of the award? |
| Answer: |
The size of the award is ($5 x n) where "n" is the number of individuals who enter the contest and fulfill
the minimum requirements. The minimum award size, regardless of the number of entries,
is $1000.00 and the maximum is $5000.00.
For instance, if 400 valid entries are received, then the size of the award will be $2000.00. |
| |
| Question: |
What are the minimum requirements? |
| Answer: |
The entry must be authored using Delve, include at least 1000 lines of Tectonic
code, and be original. |
| |
| Question: |
What do you mean by "original." |
| Answer: |
Plagiarism and entries that are derived from other entries
(you know what we mean--a change here and a change there and few global search-and-replaces do not an
original program make). If your CS professor wouldn't accept it, neither will we. |
| |
| Question: |
Who is eligible to enter the contest? |
| Answer: |
Anyone, but the winner's award is paid out directly to an accredited U.S.
university, so it really only makes sense for students at such institutions to enter. If contestants
not attending accredited U.S. universities do decide to enter, the best entries will be awarded "honorable
mention," with the grand prize reserved for those able to take advantage of it. |
| |
| Question: |
What about seniors on their last term? There's no way for them to collect the award. |
| Answer: |
Yes, too bad for them. Or you, if you're one of them. If you're about to
graduate find someone who's not and help them with their contest entry. They'll be ever so grateful,
and we know you're all about the philanthropy. |
| |
| Question: |
I'm thinking about entering, but I'm not all that familiar with SOA.
How can I get up to speed quickly enough to be competitive? |
| Answer: |
No, problem, just check out xmlhowto.org. They have loads of free
primers and tutorials to help you out. You won't even have to register. |
| |
| Question: |
Delve is a commercial product, and there's no open-source alternative.
Are contestants expected to purchase it? |
| Answer: |
Not at all. The downloadable version of Delve provides a six-week free trial?plenty
of time to complete a contest entry. |
Additional questions regarding the contest can be sent to
inquiries@cretaceoussoftware.com
Contest Details
The "SOA Software Development Contest" is a software authoring contest being held by Cretaceous Software,
Inc. a U.S.-based corporation.
Contestants will submit entries consisting of source code written in the Tectonic computer programming language.
Entries will be accepted between 12:00 AM on April 10, 2008 and 12:00 PM on May 1, 2008.
Entries will be judged based on originality, creativity, general programming acumen, the degree to
which utilize a wide range of the Tectonic programming language's unique features, and the contestant's
demonstrated understanding service-oriented architectural principles. Entries must be submitted via email
as a single compressed ("zipped") file, and must include any instructions required to assemble any projects
or resources included in the entry. Instructions pertaining to use of the executable software created
using the entry's source code should also be included, consisting of 500 words or less. The winner will
be announced no later than July 1, 2008. Entries will be judged by individuals representing Cretaceous
Software Inc. Email used to submit entries should include the following information pertaining to the
contestant:
1. The full name of the contestant (first, middle, last)
2. The contestant's phone number
3. The contestant's email address (if different than the one used to submit the entry)
4. The contestant's mailing address
5. The name of the accredited four-year university which the contestant attends
6. Contact information for university's bursar's office, or other department used to
submit tuition payments
A single grand prize will be awarded, a tuition grant paid directly to an accredited U.S. university
attended by the winning contestant. Said grant will be paid no earlier than July 15, 2008 and no
later than September 1, 2008. Cretaceous Software will contact the university designated by the winning
contestant in order to determine the appropriate date upon which funds should be transferred to said
institution.
To be eligible for the grand prize, a contestant must be attending an accredited U.S. University during
the 2008/2009 school year.
It is the responsibility of the winning contestant to contact his/her university (if necessary) in order to
make any arrangements necessary
for Cretaceous Software to provide funds on the contestant's behalf.
The grand prize amount is variable, and not to exceed $5000.00 USD. The size of the award is ($5 x n)
where "n" is the number of individuals who enter the contest and fulfill
the minimum requirements. The minimum award size is $1000.00 USD.
Source code contained in contest entries must include at least 1000 individual statements and must be original.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated! Entries failing to conform to the latter clause may be disqualified due to plagiarism.
Cretaceous Software reserves the right to examine all contest entries for instances of plagiarism and takes no
responsibility for comprehensively identifying the guilty parties--any and all entries bearing a distinct similarity
to other entries may be disqualified at Cretaceous Software's discretion.
Contestants are free to submit as many contest entries as they wish. However, if one entry is disqualified on grounds
of plagiarism (see paragraph above)
then all of the contestant's entries will be disqualified.
Employees of Cretaceous Software and family members of those employees are not eligible to participate in the contest.
All entries become the exclusive property of Cretaceous Software Inc
|
