Pinoy, best computer programmer

Posted May 23, 2008

FILIPINO Niño Rey Ronda bested more than a hundred computer programmers worldwide who vied for TopCoder Inc.'s contest for software developers.

Ronda took the $15,000 (P0.63 million) purse for the graphics design track as he competed against 119 programming athletes for championship in the Algorithm, Design, Development, Studio Design and marathon match events of the 2008 TopCoder Open at the Mirage Resort in Las Vegas last week.

Ronda, who lists his address in the Philippines as Greenpark Village, Cainta, Pasig City, ranked among champions from Poland, the United States and Brazil.

The Marathon Match's $15,000 prize went to Przemyslaw Debiak of Poland.

Ronda, tagged as a graphic designer in his flickr web site, was also the TopCoder Studio Graphic Design winner, after beating two competitors from Indonesia.

Ronda's winning Studio submission designed the entire front-end application for Lending Tree LLC, an online loan marketplace connecting a network of lenders.

The 2008 TopCoder Open (TCO) is a worldwide programming tournament open to all TopCoder members 18 years and older.

"Taking part in the 2008 TCO gives you the opportunity to showcase your programming or design skills up against some of the best in the world," the company's website said.

In an interview at the website, Ronda said he joined TopCoder two years ago and was "amazed by the competition and the prizes."

He was chosen TopCoder Studio Designer of the Month in February this year for an entry that he submitted despite "juggling a regular eight-hour job."

When asked what sights there are to see and what food there are to taste in the Philippines, Ronda cited "beach resorts like Boracay, Pagudpod, El Nido and pork adobo and balut."

Ronda credits his family for his progress into the competition.

He advises graphic designers who are just starting out to "love what you do, never give up joining every contest."

He advised them to "be proud with every single design you make. Give time working with it and do your best shot in every design you're creating. Never feel desperate if you are not winning. Push yourself for more."

TopCoder claims it is the world's largest competitive software development community with over 150,000 developers representing over 200 countries.

Jack Hughes, cofounder of web design firm Tallán Inc., founded the Glastonbury, Connecticut-headquartered TopCoder eight years ago "on the premise that talent and skill are the determinant factors in the quality and utility of software—and software has become central to the global economy."

Software programming is a high-level skill that has yet to be acquired by majority of Filipino students and workers, according to the science and technology department.

Billy Pucyutan of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology cited this as a gap.

This gap, he said, is "the lack of capability to produce advanced, locally developed and branded software that can be marketed internationally."

In 2004, another Filipino named Celsus Lumibaw Kintanar, was also reported to have been chosen as a finalist in the TopCoder contest.

Source: Business Mirror, May 21, 2008
by Dennis Estopace