u/Federal_Tackle3053

https://preview.redd.it/vac2wa24vuah1.png?width=379&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa3b304c650f7a4d8cddd579e40e940f1d974d21

Today was one of those days that reminds me how much there is to learn in competitive programming.

I picked an 1800-rated Codeforces DP problem and spent nearly 2 hours trying to solve it.

Instead of following the obvious DP direction, I convinced myself there had to be a greedy solution. I built one, debugged it carefully, and for a moment I thought I had found a beautiful shortcut.

Then came Wrong Answer on test #12.

I kept trying. I discussed different ideas with ChatGPT, refined the approach multiple times, and even those versions eventually failed on hidden tests.

Finally, I opened the editorial.

Within a few minutes, I understood why my intuition was wrong. It wasn't a small bug it was the entire approach. The official solution relied on an insight I simply hadn't seen..

And every time this happens, my respect for Codeforces Candidate Masters, International Masters, and Legendary Grandmasters grows even more. Solving these problems consistently during contests is an incredible skill.

One problem defeated me today.

Hopefully, it also made me a little stronger for tomorrow.

https://preview.redd.it/dyzuos22qqah1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=920fbfbef834cb5e3a1a8d6f1fedba5c730b4477

I'm a CS student interested in low-latency trading infrastructure and market data systems.

My current machine has a Ryzen 7 7445HS but only a Realtek RTL8111/8168 NIC, which seems to limit practical DPDK experimentation.

Given that constraint, would you focus on:

• AF_XDP/XDP/eBPF
• DPDK with virtual devices
• Purchasing an Intel X520/X710 NIC

Or is it more valuable at this stage to focus on concepts such as DMA, RSS, NIC queues, lock-free data structures, feed handlers, and latency measurement?

A few months ago I was just grinding on CF, and preparing for SWE internships like most students.

Then I got curious about low-latency systems and HFT infrastructure. I had no finance background, no internship experience, and definitely wasn't expecting anything to come out of it.

So I started building a project called Pulse-Order.

It's a C++20 project where I tried to simulate parts of a low-latency trading system:

• Binary market data packets
• L2 order book
• Order matching logic
• Risk checks
• DPDK-based packet processing
• Performance benchmarking

I put the code on GitHub and shared some progress online.

IMC trading employee

The surprising part?

People working in HFT and trading infrastructure actually started responding. I got feedback from engineers associated with firms like IMC Trading, Jane Street, and other low-latency/HFT backgrounds. Some pointed out flaws, some suggested improvements, and some were genuinely encouraging.

As a student from a non-IIT background, that was honestly unexpected.

The biggest lesson for me:
Trying to build something slightly beyond your current skill level teaches far more than following tutorials. The project may be unfinished, but the learning and connections that come from it are very real.

The project is nowhere near production-ready, but it taught me more about networking, performance, Linux, memory layout, and modern C++ than months of tutorial watching.

GitHub:
https://github.com/Shivfun99/Pulse-Order

Curious if anyone else here has had similar experiences where a side project unexpectedly connected them with industry professionals.

A few months ago I was just grinding on CF, and preparing for SWE internships like most students.

Then I got curious about low-latency systems and HFT infrastructure. I had no finance background, no internship experience, and definitely wasn't expecting anything to come out of it.

So I started building a project called Pulse-Order.

It's a C++20 project where I tried to simulate parts of a low-latency trading system:

• Binary market data packets
• L2 order book
• Order matching logic
• Risk checks
• DPDK-based packet processing
• Performance benchmarking

I put the code on GitHub and shared some progress online.

https://preview.redd.it/l1f561402m8h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=b07c3b5a6ea00fa5445e395c00d021ca4facf1b4

The surprising part?

People working in HFT and trading infrastructure actually started responding. I got feedback from engineers associated with firms like IMC Trading, Jane Street, and other low-latency/HFT backgrounds. Some pointed out flaws, some suggested improvements, and some were genuinely encouraging.

As a student from a non-IIT background, that was honestly unexpected.

The biggest lesson for me:
Trying to build something slightly beyond your current skill level teaches far more than following tutorials. The project may be unfinished, but the learning and connections that come from it are very real.

The project is nowhere near production-ready, but it taught me more about networking, performance, Linux, memory layout, and modern C++ than months of tutorial watching.

GitHub:
https://github.com/Shivfun99/Pulse-Order

Curious if anyone else here has had similar experiences where a side project unexpectedly connected them with industry professionals.

A few months ago I was just grinding on CF, and preparing for SWE internships like most students.

Then I got curious about low-latency systems and HFT infrastructure. I had no finance background, no internship experience, and definitely wasn't expecting anything to come out of it.

So I started building a project called Pulse-Order.

It's a C++20 project where I tried to simulate parts of a low-latency trading system:

• Binary market data packets
• L2 order book
• Order matching logic
• Risk checks
• DPDK-based packet processing
• Performance benchmarking

I put the code on GitHub and shared some progress online.

https://preview.redd.it/neei5kr71m8h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d5d98eb456393bf2d5bcaa01d2553f0b792e34a

The surprising part?

People working in HFT and trading infrastructure actually started responding. I got feedback from engineers associated with firms like IMC Trading, Jane Street, and other low-latency/HFT backgrounds. Some pointed out flaws, some suggested improvements, and some were genuinely encouraging.

As a student from a non-IIT background, that was honestly unexpected.

The biggest lesson for me:
Trying to build something slightly beyond your current skill level teaches far more than following tutorials. The project may be unfinished, but the learning and connections that come from it are very real.

The project is nowhere near production-ready, but it taught me more about networking, performance, Linux, memory layout, and modern C++ than months of tutorial watching.

GitHub:
https://github.com/Shivfun99/Pulse-Order

Curious if anyone else here has had similar experiences where a side project unexpectedly connected them with industry professionals.

Was solving Q4 from the latest LeetCode Biweekly and got a strong sense of déjà vu.

The problem asks us to count numbers in a range [l,r][l, r][l,r] where the absolute difference between every pair of adjacent digits is at most k. The intended solution appears to be a standard Digit DP with states like:

position, previous_digit, tight, started

It immediately reminded me of Codeforces Gym problem:

G. Who Likes Mathematics is not Boki-chan

where we count numbers in [L,R][L, R][L,R] such that the absolute difference between adjacent digits is exactly 1.

The DP structure is almost identical. The only real change is replacing:

abs(d - prev) == 1

with

abs(d - prev) <= k

Everything else (digit DP over range, leading-zero handling, previous digit state, tight flag) stays basically the same.

https://preview.redd.it/vh84w00fvg8h1.png?width=987&format=png&auto=webp&s=f816f1dc8aa57316afe1606fe09cb0c9c867ecef

As students have many queries about education loans so lemme clear here .

Open this website.

​

https://sbi.bank.in/web/personal-banking/loans/education-loans/scholar-loan-scheme

​

Download the premium institute list and go to a good branch of sbi (not local one) .

And show them this list as vit ap is in group B list so you can take a loan of 30 lakhs rupees without collateral.

Processes will take some 7-8 days if you are active.

​

Ps:if you are female then ask them ,they have some offers also.

Same as title

(Don't suggest golden ornaments) The engagement ring and a golden necklace are already there . Tell me something else

Same as title

(Don't suggest golden ornaments) The engagement ring and a golden necklace are already there . Tell me something else

https://preview.redd.it/a985xjmdzv7h1.png?width=1913&format=png&auto=webp&s=e1a02bed8f2e1c2a5a0870c76246b86ae8bc4111

check guys once

I am a 3rd-year CS student. I've received referrals from companies like Google, Microsoft, Walmart, etc., from SDE-2s, SDE-3s, and even managers through my connections.

​

I wanted to know:

​

- Does the seniority of the referrer matter?

- Do referrals actually increase interview chances or just help with resume screening?

- If I already have referrals, what should I do to maximize my chances?

- Is getting multiple referrals in the same company useful?

​

Seniors and people working in top tech, please share how referrals work internally and any advice for me.

​

I'm a 3rd-year CS student. I've received referrals from companies like Google, Microsoft, Walmart, etc., from SDE-2s, SDE-3s, and even managers through my connections.

​

I wanted to know:

​

- Does the seniority of the referrer matter?

- Do referrals actually increase interview chances or just help with resume screening?

- If I already have referrals, what should I do to maximize my chances?

- Is getting multiple referrals in the same company useful?

​

Seniors and people working in top tech, please share how referrals work internally and any advice for me..

I'm a 3rd-year CS student. I've received referrals from companies like Google, Microsoft, Walmart, etc., from SDE-2s, SDE-3s, and even managers through my connections.

​

I wanted to know:

​

- Does the seniority of the referrer matter?

- Do referrals actually increase interview chances or just help with resume screening?

- If I already have referrals, what should I do to maximize my chances?

- Is getting multiple referrals in the same company useful?

​

Seniors and people working in top tech, please share how referrals work internally and any advice for me..

​

Three months ago I asked whether 3–5 µs order latency was achievable with software techniques alone.

https://preview.redd.it/yv4w5069vw5h1.png?width=693&format=png&auto=webp&s=092685e6dc0ec23f4458cc44f06660e6f42fa320

I built V1, a C++20/DPDK trading packet processor with fixed 62-byte Ethernet frames, L2 market-depth state, imbalance-based BUY/SELL logic, inline risk checks, and DPDK RX/TX processing.

Results over 1M controlled order-producing events with 0 failures:

• Ring PMD: 110.8 ns p50 / 552.2 ns p99
• AF_PACKET over private veth: 1.74 µs p50 / 3.26 µs p99

These are application-side RX-to-TX-enqueue measurements, not physical NIC or exchange latency.

GitHub: https://github.com/Shivfun99/Pulse-Order

Next I want to add real market-data replay, burst-load p99/p99.9, multi-symbol handling, fills/cancels, and eventually real NIC/VFIO testing.

What would be the most meaningful next validation step?