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Glossary

Comprehensive reference of terms and definitions used throughout omegaUp documentation and the platform.

General Terms

omegaUp

The educational programming platform that helps students improve their programming skills through practice problems, contests, and courses.

Problem

A programming challenge consisting of a problem statement, input/output specifications, constraints, and test cases. Problems are the core unit of content on omegaUp.

Contest

A timed programming competition where participants solve a set of problems. Contests have defined start/end times, scoring rules, and may include features like virtual participation.

Course

A structured learning path containing assignments with problems, organized by topics. Courses include progress tracking and deadlines.

Submission (Run)

Code submitted by a user to solve a problem. Each submission is compiled, executed against test cases, and assigned a verdict.

Arena

The contest interface where participants solve problems during competitions. Provides real-time scoreboard, code editor, and submission system.

User Roles

Contestant / Participant

A user participating in a contest or practicing problems.

Problem Setter

A user who creates problems for omegaUp. Problem setters define statements, test cases, and validators.

Contest Organizer

A user who creates and manages contests. Can add problems, manage participants, and configure contest settings.

Course Administrator

A user who manages courses, assigns problems, tracks student progress, and reviews submissions.

Teaching Assistant (TA)

A course helper who can provide code reviews and answer student clarifications.

System Administrator (Sysadmin)

A user with full administrative access to the omegaUp platform.

Technical Terms

Grader

The Go microservice that manages the submission queue and coordinates evaluation. The Grader receives submissions from the frontend, assigns them to Runners, and stores results.

Runner

A service instance that compiles and executes user-submitted code in a secure sandbox. Multiple Runners can operate in parallel to handle submission load.

Minijail

The Linux sandbox used for secure code execution, forked from Chrome OS. Provides process isolation, syscall filtering, and resource limits.

GitServer

The service that manages problem repositories using Git. Provides version control, branch management, and content serving for problems.

Broadcaster

The WebSocket server that delivers real-time updates to clients, including scoreboard changes, verdict notifications, and clarifications.

DAO (Data Access Object)

PHP classes that handle database interactions. DAOs provide methods for CRUD operations on database tables.

VO (Value Object)

PHP classes that map to database tables. VOs represent individual database records with typed properties.

MVC (Model-View-Controller)

The architectural pattern used in omegaUp's PHP application. Controllers handle business logic, DAOs/VOs handle data, and templates handle presentation.

Controller

PHP classes that implement API endpoints and business logic. Located in frontend/server/src/Controllers/.

Verdicts

AC (Accepted)

The solution produces correct output for all test cases and passes within resource limits.

PA (Partially Accepted)

The solution passes some but not all test cases. Used with partial scoring problems.

WA (Wrong Answer)

The solution produces incorrect output for one or more test cases.

TLE (Time Limit Exceeded)

The solution exceeded the time limit on one or more test cases.

MLE (Memory Limit Exceeded)

The solution exceeded the memory limit during execution.

RTE (Runtime Error)

The solution crashed during execution (e.g., segmentation fault, division by zero, stack overflow).

CE (Compilation Error)

The code failed to compile. Common causes: syntax errors, missing includes, type mismatches.

JE (Judge Error)

An internal error occurred during evaluation. Typically indicates a problem with the test data or validator.

OLE (Output Limit Exceeded)

The solution produced too much output, exceeding the allowed limit.

Contest Scoring

IOI Style

Scoring model where each test case awards partial points. Final score is the sum of points from all test cases.

ICPC Style

Scoring model where problems are worth equal points (typically 1). Penalty time is added for wrong submissions.

Penalty

Time-based or submission-based deduction in ICPC-style contests. Typically 20 minutes per wrong submission.

Scoreboard Freeze

Period before contest end when the scoreboard stops updating publicly, creating suspense for final results.

Virtual Contest

Simulating a past contest under original time conditions. Allows practice with historical contests.

Problem Components

Statement

The problem description including the task, input/output format, constraints, and examples.

Test Case

A pair of input data and expected output used to evaluate submissions.

Test Group

A collection of related test cases, often with shared points. Used for subtask scoring.

Validator

A program that checks solution output, especially for problems with multiple valid answers.

Interactive Problem

A problem where the solution must interact with a judge program through standard I/O.

Generator

A program that creates test cases, typically for large or randomized inputs.

Subtask

A subset of test cases with specific constraints, allowing partial credit for simpler solutions.

Problem Settings

Time Limit

Maximum execution time allowed per test case, in seconds (e.g., 1.0s, 2.0s).

Memory Limit

Maximum memory the solution can use, in bytes or megabytes (e.g., 256 MB).

Output Limit

Maximum size of solution output, prevents infinite printing.

Validator Type

How output is compared: token-caseless, token-numeric, literal, or custom.

Problem Visibility

Access level: private (owner only), public (anyone), or contest-specific.

API Terms

Endpoint

A specific API URL that handles a particular operation (e.g., /api/Problem/create/).

Request Parameter

Data sent to an API endpoint, either in the URL query string or request body.

Response

JSON data returned by an API endpoint, including status and requested data.

Authentication Token

The ouat cookie that identifies and authenticates users for API requests.

Rate Limiting

Restriction on API call frequency to prevent abuse. Limits vary by endpoint.

Infrastructure Terms

Redis

In-memory data store used for session storage, caching, and real-time messaging.

RabbitMQ

Message queue used for asynchronous task processing, such as certificate generation.

PHP-FPM

PHP FastCGI Process Manager that handles PHP request processing.

Nginx

Web server and reverse proxy that routes requests to appropriate backend services.

Docker

Containerization platform used for development and deployment environments.

Development Terms

PR (Pull Request)

A proposed code change submitted for review before merging into the main codebase.

CI (Continuous Integration)

Automated testing that runs on every code change to ensure quality.

Linter

Tool that checks code for style and potential errors (e.g., ESLint, Psalm).

Migration

Database schema change script that updates the database structure.

Fixture

Test data used to set up a known state for testing.

Abbreviations

Abbreviation Full Term
API Application Programming Interface
CRUD Create, Read, Update, Delete
CSRF Cross-Site Request Forgery
DAO Data Access Object
GSoC Google Summer of Code
ICPC International Collegiate Programming Contest
IOI International Olympiad in Informatics
JSON JavaScript Object Notation
JWT JSON Web Token
MVC Model-View-Controller
REST Representational State Transfer
SQL Structured Query Language
TLS Transport Layer Security
VO Value Object
WS WebSocket
XSS Cross-Site Scripting