Sneak Peak: Kumite + Kata Translations

What is a Kumite?

In martial arts, kumite (ko͞omiˌtā) is the practice of applying techniques learned through kata during freestyle sparring. In that spirit, we have created our own interpretation of the form - an executable, forkable code snippet, that allows users to collaborate.

To get started, visit your account settings page and scroll down to enable kumite in the labs section.

Kumite supports 27 languages

Kumite is where we will be launching support for new languages. Currently, they support the ability to run 27 different languages, of which 8 support testing capabilities, and many more will soon! After languages are stabilized and the community is ready we will add them to kata support.

Creating a kumite

Start a kumite by posting code, with or without test cases, that you would like to share. It could be an experimental idea you are playing with, code you are proud of, a block of code you want the community to improve, etc... anything you can think of.

From there, others can view the code, see its output, and fork it to improve upon it in their own way. Each fork is a part of a tree, so that you can easily navigate between them and see everything in one place. Any differences between forked code/tests are easily viewable using our diff feature.

Kumite is a great way to express yourself as a programmer. You can use it to share and iterate on ideas, or just to have fun sparring with your fellow code warriors. Its also a great way to earn honor. For each kumite you create, you will earn an honor point. For each fork made of your kumite (at any nesting level), you will receive an additional honor point.

You can also create kumite off of kata solutions, easily allowing you to refactor and iterate on others work. These kumite, along with kata translations, will only be shown within the kata to users who have completed/unlocked it - to ensure that others have the chance to complete the kata first.

Translate kata, earn honor.

Now you can translate kata into new languages, which will earn you 4 additional honor for each one. Once you have enabled the kumite feature, each kata you have completed/unlocked will have a plus button in the language selection area. This takes you to the translation section where you can see a list of existing translations and to add a new translation.

Once a translation is published, it can be forked and iterated on by yourself and others. Once it is ready, a moderator will approve it, which will automatically merge it into the kata and award you the 4 additional honor.

We are excited about both of these features and think you will be to. Give them a spin and as always, we love feedback, so please let us know what you think.