Problem package

A problem package is the unit of work in tcframe that defines a problem and its test data. It is a directory that consists of all files related to the problem, particularly a spec file and one or more solution files. It is identified by a unique name called slug.

Slug

A slug can be considered as the codename of a problem. For example, if your problem name is “Counting Tree”, the slug could be tree or counting-tree or whatever you like, as long as it consists of one or more characters a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and -. The produced test case files will have the slug as the prefix, for example: tree_1.in.

The slug will be taken from the name of the problem package’s directory. For example, if your problem package directory is /home/fushar/my-contest/tree/, then the slug would be tree.

It is also possible to prepend the slug with some metadata string, separated by an underscore (_). For example, if tree if your third problem in your contest, you might want to call your problem package directory /home/fushar/my-contest/c_tree/. In this case, the slug would be still tree.

Components of a problem package

Spec file
The formal specification of the problem.
Solution files
A reference solution and one or more alternate solutions to the problem.