Is spoj a better for PRACTICE compared to codechef?

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I have solved around 60 practice questions on codechef (most solved easy). But recently i started noticing that they are becoming very repetitive. Same type of questions are repeating in one form or other, very often. Then i went to spoj. saw few most-solved questions there. they seem not only more challenging, but also very different from one another. so, it seem better for practice. what are your views on this?
(PS-i am talking about practice problems, not contest)

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Practise Problem

  1. start with codeforces A and B level problem . And then move to C and D level problem .

  2. codechef long,cookoff and lunchtime . (contest is also a kind of practise :P)

  3. Topcoder contest and practise (250 and 500 pts problem and then 900 pts problem ).

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Hi, let me tell you one thing.It’s not important that how many problems you solved! but you have to see how much knowledge you gained after solving one problem.I think codechef’s easy problems(according to most solved in easy section) are so basic that you can solve them using basic knowledge(just knowledge on arrays,data types,coditional-statements,sorting,… is enough to solve.). I think once you are perfect in these basic things ,stop doing them.Now it’s the time for learning new data structures like linked lists,stacks,queues,trees,graphs, and new algorithms(techniques) like DP,greedy,…try to search problems related to the above mentioned categories and solve them.At this stage you can find nice delicious problems in codechef(of course you may find in spoj too,but in codechef it’s easy to categorise the problems).As a summary, try to do problems which are little bit difficult,which involve some algorithm knowledge(assuming that you have solved easy problems first i.e you have enough practise on arrays,…).

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At least that’s what I think

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Let me phrase your question this way:

Imagine you’re standing on a hill and everywhere around you, you only see a huge forest. As far as you can see. Do you run down excitedly in hopes of getting lost in there, wandering around all your life and never finding a way out?

No, SPOJ is not a good place for practice, unless you have a specific set of problems that you want to practice on. It simply has too many problems, so you can solve them forever (often basically repeating the same topics over and over) and not see your progress at all. Smaller and better sorted problemsets are much more useful, as is doing contests themselves.

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