Would anyone like to contribute to a camper-built open source project about algorithms and data structures?

Hi freeCodeCampers! A couple of months ago, I published an article in freeCodeCamp’s Medium publication about an app that I built. The app is an in-browser JavaScript sandbox that offers a simple and easy environment in which to practice Sorting Algorithms, Data Structures, and other algorithm challenges similar to those you might see in programming interviews.

I’m writing this post because I’m hoping to introduce more people to the app, and because I’d very much like the community’s help in making it better. But before moving on to the details about that, a bit of back story:

Just yesterday, I released a major update to the application (which I wrote about here), which adds several new features – most notably, automated testing, which allows users to run freeCodeCamp-like unit tests against their code, so that they can be sure their solutions are correct. With this addition, the app basically becomes like a very light version of freeCodeCamp, with a very narrow focus on the above topics.

Nothing can replace the value freeCodeCamp offers in introducing web development from soup to nuts, but if you’re just looking to practice these topics (maybe to help you prep for interviews), this app can be a great resource.

When my first article was published, I received an overwhelmingly positive response. And in tracking activity since then, I’ve logged nearly 45,000 hits to the site, with an average of roughly 500 active daily users (although in reality, the current daily number is closer to around 150).

To be honest, I built this app just for fun and to help teach myself the concepts that the application covers. So needless to say, I’ve been pleased and very surprised that it’s actually managed to retain a small number of daily active users! And that’s a big part of the reason I decided to put so much effort into making it better.

Now that these big changes have been pushed into production, my goal is to take this app to the next level. There are a ton of apps out there that allow you to practice these kinds of problems right in your browser, but none that are quite so simple, and many eventually ask for some kind of membership fee for full access (with freeCodeCamp being a notable exception). CS-Playground-React requires no sign-in or membership of any kind, it stores all your code is stored right in local storage, and of course, like the app that helped get me here, it will always be free.

With the freeCodeCamp community’s help, I think we can make this app the simplest and most comprehensive interactive collection of algorithm and data structure problems on the web. The motivation for this is just to have a cool app that people actually use, and to help other students of JavaScript hone their craft. But to achieve this goal, I need your help!

The app is built with React and Redux, but to contribute a new problem, all you need to know is JavaScript basics, and the concept you want to cover.

If you’re interested in contributing, first take a look at the site, then visit the repo and check out the contributing guidelines. If you have any questions, open an issue or reach out to me on Gitter (@no-stack-dub-sack). I really hope to hear from some of you soon!

Thanks so much for reading this way too long post :smile:

The new Paraiso Light theme for CS-Playground-React, with test results shown in the console

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Hey! This sounds like a cool project. I’ll try to contribute a little something!

Hey @garroadran, cool! Thanks!

I also want people to know, if contributing a problem with tests seems too complicated, just contributing a problem (algo, data structure) is super easy and is just a matter of adding one file and modifying another.

Problems can range from the easiest of all easy algorithms (reverse a string, isPalindrome) to something much harder, so people at all skill levels can contribute.

Hopefully the contributing docs are helpful but let me know if you have any questions!