The Coder Companion

GIF
From problems to solutions, with Gemini access on the side.
GIF
The home page
The problem page UI.

Inspiration

Our inspiration stems from our own beginnings in competitive programming. We were lost, with no one to guide us in writing better codes to solve complex problems. That's when we had an idea - what if AI could be the mentor we never had? This realization led to the creation of The coder companion , an AI-powered platform that will be available to every student at every step of their coding journey. Gemini will be the companion empowering students to overcome challenges and become exceptional competitive programmers.

What it does

The Coder Companion is a coding platform with an AI assistant, Gemini. Students can attempt questions in multiple programming languages. They can access Gemini for help understanding logic, identifying code errors, and developing efficient solutions. Students can submit codes, which are evaluated against numerous test cases to verify correctness. Gemini guides them through problem-solving, fostering skills for competitive programming success.

How we built it

Frontend:

React.js was used as the main frontend library
Monaco module for providing a code editor
react-resizable-panels for creating dynamic panes
CSS for styling and beautifying the UI

Backend:

Node.js and Express.js for the backend server
Judge0 for compiling and running submitted codes

Deployment:

Both the frontend and backend were deployed using Vercel

Challenges we ran into

Integrating a code editor within the platform and connecting it to a compiler, requiring seamless frontend-backend communication and integration with a code execution service.
Deployment challenges, including handling CORS issues when making frontend-backend requests, and adapting to Vercel's specific deployment workflow and configurations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

One of our proudest accomplishments is creating a user-friendly and intuitive coding platform. During the testing phase, we invited friends to try it out, and they encountered challenging questions that initially stumped them. However, with Gemini's AI-powered guidance, they were able to understand the logic, identify errors, and develop efficient solutions, ultimately solving the problems successfully. Witnessing our friends overcome obstacles with Gemini's help was a profound moment that strengthened our belief in the platform's potential to empower aspiring programmers.

What we learned

Through building The Coder Companion, you gained practical knowledge about integrating compilers, leveraging online judging systems, managing CORS for frontend-backend communication, and navigating the deployment process, particularly on Vercel. These learnings expanded our technical skills and prepared us for future projects involving code execution, web security, and application deployment.

What's next for The Coder Companion

The future roadmap involves expanding the question bank with a diverse range of coding challenges, developing a custom compiler to replace Judge0 for more tailored compilation and execution, fine-tuning the Gemini AI assistant, and implementing question filtering based on user preferences, and improve user experience.