Introduction
Being a developer is all about solving problems, whether as a frontend, backend or any other field in development. Hence, it’s very important to develop problem-solving skills early in your development journey.
Problem-solving skills just like any other skill are mastered through constant practice. There are several platforms out there that help developers get better at solving problems and one of them is codewars.
In this article, we will look at the following:
What codewars offers
How to set up an account
The reason you should use it as a platform to improve your problem-solving skills
Codewar and its features
Codewars is an online platform designed to help developers improve their coding skills by providing a collection of programming challenges nicknamed "katas". These challenges are divided into different difficulty levels, ranging from beginner to advanced, and cover a wide range of programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, and more.
Codewars as a platform is unique for its standout features. Some of them are as follows:
Programming Challenges: It offers a variety of coding challenges(katas), designed to help you improve your problem-solving skills and coding proficiency.
Difficulty Levels: The katas on codewars are organized into different difficulty levels, from beginner to advanced. This allows you to choose challenges that match your skill level and progress at your own pace.
Multiple Programming Languages: It supports a wide range of programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, C++, and more, allowing you to practice and improve your skills in your preferred language.
Code Testing: Each kata on codewars includes a series of test cases that check the accuracy of your solution, providing immediate feedback and helping you identify areas where you need to improve.
Ranking System: Codewars uses a ranking system based on user performance. With this feature, you can earn points and move up in rank as you complete more challenges and improve your skills.
Great community: Codewars doesn’t just leave their users out to figure everything out on their own. It provides a great community filled with other developers allowing users to interact with each other, ask for help, and discuss solutions.
Setting up a Codewars account
Now that you know exactly what codewars and its features are, let’s walk through a step-by-step guide for setting up an account.
Go to the codewars website (https://www.codewars.com/) and click on the "Join" button in the top right corner of the page.
Choose a sign-up method. You can sign up using your email address or GitHub account.
Once you have created an account, you will be redirected to a training setup page. Here you will be asked to select the preferred languages that you want to practice with. Feel free to just start with a few, you will have the chance to add or remove them later on. Click on the “Save my training preferences” button after making your selections.
After finishing up with your training set-up, you will be redirected to the home page where you will be presented with a challenge to start with. You have the option to “Train” or “Skip” the challenge.
If you click on the “Train” button, the training interface will open up. Read through the challenge, fill in your solution and click on the “Test” button. When you are satisfied with the test output, you can then click on the “Attempt” button.
This is all that’s needed to set up a codewars account and start solving coding problems.
Why you should use Codewars as a developer
The majority of a developer's time is spent solving problems and getting better at solving problems will be a goal for any developer looking to add value to him/herself. Codewars offers the platform for this to be achieved.
Let’s take a look at a few reasons why every developer should be making use of this platform.
Improve coding skills: Before you can get good at solving problems with code, you need to have good coding skills and this is what codewars offers. It provides a wide range of challenges ranging from beginner to more advanced challenges, allowing you to keep practising and sharpening your skills.
Provides real-world scenarios: Most of the challenges on the platform mimic real problems that can be solved through coding. This makes it more relevant and practical.
Offers a supportive community: Codewars has a very large community of developers. This community stands to offer you support at any point you’re stuck using the platform.
Helps with coding interview: Most technical interviewers access platforms like codewars to get their coding challenge questions. Also, users get to upload interview challenges they have come across to the platform. There’s a good chance that the more you practice with Codewars, the higher your chance of seeing a similar challenge from the platform during an interview.
The reasons for every developer to make use of codewars are not limited to the points above, but it covers the key reasons.
Conclusion
A developer with good problem-solving skills sets him/herself out of the crowd in the tech space. Codewars provides a lot to developers ranging from improving their coding skills to offering a supportive community to help in their coding journey. If you’re looking to improve at solving problems then codewars is a good platform to start from.