The 1999 ICFP Programming Contest

Introduction The International Conference on Functional Programming (ICFP) sponsors an annual programming contest. The most recent contest was held from September 2 to September 5, 1999. The contest is primarily for fun, but it also serves two serious purposes: to show how functional languages can help people solve hard problems quickly, and to provide a \reality check" by comparing programs written in functional languages to programs written using the more popular imperative and object-oriented paradigms. The contest is open to all, and entrants may use any programming language|the only limitation is that entries must work on a Pentium running Linux. The Judges award First and Second prizes based on objective criteria, and they award a Judges' Prize to another entry which, in their subjective opinion, is most deserving. The prizes include cash awards, books on functional programming, and peer recognition, including \unlimited bragging rights." Entrants may enter alone, or i