If there is one hobby that I cannot leave even when I become a CEO, it will be coding. Yes, I like coding very much. Not that I am hotshot programmer or something like that, but I would like to spend a couple of hours every month doing some silly coding. It feels good when I sit with Madhu trying to get something done by it using programs.

So, when I had the challenge of running an online examination for more than 700 people I was more than excited. The challenge came in the form of Ashwamedha, our flagship event in IRIS 2005. We had enormous number of registrations and the first round of elimination involved running an online quiz. It’s a challenge not just because the number of users is intimidating, but the stakes involved are pretty high given the fact that other important schools have failed to do it even at half of the numbers. Everyone is actually looking up to IRIS and it’s a matter of pride for us to run the thing with out a flaw.

The oldest trick in the codebook for dummies came to our (sanchit, rahul, shameelo and myself are in the website team) rescue. Divide and Conquer. We created mirror databases to reduce concurrent load on each of the dbs. Then we created multiple slots with geographically separated junta. We randomized the questions to eliminate the chance of intelligent use of Microsoft technologies and Google assistance. Finally we limited the login time to a small window to ensure that everyone sees the question paper at the same time. The result… Well you need not ask me. The test was a grand success.

Chalo, Me off to catch some sleep now.

- Chandoo