Advent of Code and Advent of No Code 2024

Advent of Code: Daily Warmups with TypeScript

This year, I’ve been diving into Advent of Code 2024 as my daily brain warmup. It’s a fantastic way to start the day, solving puzzles that range from “oh, that’s clever” to “why am I doing math at 7 AM?”

I’ve set up some basic scaffolding in TypeScript for each new day, so I can jump straight into the logic without getting bogged down in boilerplate. It’s been smooth sailing so far, and I love how it’s helping me sharpen my problem-solving skills one challenge at a time.

If you’re curious, you can check out my solutions here: Advent of Code 2024 Solutions. Here's a preview of my day 1 solution in TypeScript:

import { readInput, quickSort } from '@src/utils';
 
function solve(input: string[]): any {
  let total = 0
  let l: number[] = []
  let r: number[] = []
 
  input
    .forEach((line) => {
      let [left, right] = line.split('  ')
      l.push(parseInt(left))
      r.push(parseInt(right))
    })
 
  let sortedL = quickSort(l)
  let sortedR = quickSort(r)
 
  for (let i = 0; i < sortedL.length; i++) {
    if (sortedL[i] && sortedR[i]) {
      total += Math.abs(sortedL[i] - sortedR[i])
    }
  }
  
  return total
}
 
// Measure performance of the solution
const start = performance.now()
let result = solve(readInput(__dirname))
const end = performance.now()
console.log(result, `\nOperation took ${(end - start).toFixed(3)} milliseconds`);

Advent of No Code: Creative Chaos

On the flip side, Advent of No Code 2024 has been a playground for creativity. Each challenge is an opportunity to explore no-code tools and see what kind of wild, meme-y projects I can whip up. So far, I’ve leaned into the absurd, like making a Tic Tac Toe game where AMD always wins and designing a synthwave piano inspired by Gene’s piano from Bob’s Burgers.

Here’s a quick rundown of my submissions so far:

Submissions for Advent of No Code

Each project has pushed me to think outside the box (and occasionally inside the meme), all while learning how these platforms handle unique challenges.

Why Both?

Doing both Advent of Code and Advent of No Code has been the perfect balance of technical and creative challenges. Advent of Code gets my mind into problem-solving mode for the day, while Advent of No Code is a sandbox for experimenting with tools and ideas I wouldn’t usually explore.

If you’re up for it, I highly recommend giving either (or both!) a shot. And if you want to see what I’ve been building, my repository has all the details: Advent of Code 2024 Solutions.

Conclusion

Whether it’s debugging TypeScript at dawn or crafting a synthwave piano masterpiece by dusk, this year’s advent challenges have been a blast. I’m learning, creating, and having way too much fun along the way.

Let me know if you’re doing any advent challenges too—I’d love to see what you’re building!