I like the sort of problems I saw there - but not so keen on the timing requirements (not because I'm not a fast coder, but I don't often have 2 hours I can be sure I can solidly dedicate to such a task). The other sites mentioned by various posters didn't seem to quite fit the bill, though maybe I need to look more at topcoder.com.

Looks like the sort of thing I had in mind (although the site itself doesn't work under IE7), except I imagined having just one active problem at a time, rather than a whole bunch of them that appear to have been there for years. Still, thanks for the link.

Oh, I forgot mention, Code Project members should also be encouraged to submit tasks/problems too. As an example of the sort of task that might be suitable: a simple program that takes 3 or 4 web pages generated by the same server-side template/script, and that automatically "reverse engineers" the pages to work out what what the optimal template is. E.g. if the pages were 1.html This page is about apples.

Colour

Red

Size

Medium

2.html This page is about blueberries.

Colour

Blue/black

Size

Small

3.html This page is about coconuts.

Colour

Brown

Size

Large

Then then the optimal output template (in .aspx format) would be something like: This page is about <%=v1>

Colour

<%=v3%>

Size

<%=v4>

To pass the automated part of the test, the application would be compiled and run against at least 3 sets of files, (i.e., not the ones that are given as examples as part of the task definition), and the output tested to confirm it was at least sensible (e.g. matches the regular expression ^.{10,200}\s*$), or if the task itself was defined very strictly, then there's no reason why the output shouldn't be exactly as expected. Ideally, programmers should be able to submit their solution to be tested against the automated checker first, just to confirm their solution compiles and runs. Anyway, just an idea...

I know Code Project has an article competition - but how about a programming competition, where every week (or month) a small programming task is set - something that would generally take no more than 1000 lines of code to do - and all Code Project members are encouraged to submit answers. Ideally, it would be language/platform neutral, or there could be separate competitions for different platforms. The judging could be partly automated (i.e. the code has to compile and produce the expected output), then all the solutions that work correctly could be judged by a panel, or even by other (non-participating) readers. No need for prizes unless some corporate sponsor feels it's worth it I guess. Does anyone know of an existing website that does this? (I found one, but it hadn't been updated since 2006).