Add Stage Hints And Solutions

Goal

Implement working solutions and hints for specified base stages of a programming language that already has Stage 1 support in the course.

Procedure

1. Environment Setup

Ensure all necessary tools are installed before proceeding:

1. Bun: Check if Bun is installed. If not, run curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash and source the shell configuration (e.g., source ~/.bashrc).
2. Docker: Ensure Docker is installed. Start and verify the daemon:
   • sudo service docker start
   • sudo docker info
   • cgroup workaround (Cursor Cloud / nested container environments): If docker run fails with an error like unable to apply cgroup configuration: cannot enter cgroupv2 ... with domain controllers -- it is in threaded mode, the --memory and --cpus resource limit flags used by course-sdk test are incompatible with the host's cgroup configuration. Fix this by wrapping the docker binary to strip those flags:

     sudo mv /usr/bin/docker /usr/bin/docker.real
     sudo tee /usr/bin/docker << 'WRAPPER'
     #!/bin/bash
     args=()
     for arg in "$@"; do
       case "$arg" in
         --memory=*|--cpus=*) ;;
         *) args+=("$arg") ;;
       esac
     done
     exec /usr/bin/docker.real "${args[@]}"
     WRAPPER
     sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/docker
     

     This strips --memory and --cpus flags from all docker run invocations, allowing course-sdk test to work in environments where cgroupv2 resource controllers are unavailable.
3. course-sdk: Might be installed but assume it is outdated. Run bun install and make install in the repository root to compile the SDK.

2. Gather Context

Before writing any code, understand what you're building:

1. Identify the target language and stages from the user's request (e.g., "Add solutions for base stages 2-5 in Rust").
2. Read the stage descriptions (stage_descriptions/base-<stage-number>-<stage-slug>.md or equivalent) to understand what each requested stage expects — inputs, expected outputs, and behavior.
3. Read existing solutions in 2-3 reference languages (e.g., solutions/python/, solutions/go/, solutions/rust/) for each requested stage. Pay close attention to:
   • The code diff or progression from one stage to the next.
   • The /code/config.yml structure — how hints are written for each stage.
   • Any stage-specific patterns (e.g., new files introduced, dependency changes).
4. Read the previous stage's solution for the target language at solutions/<LANGUAGE>/<previous-stage>/code/ — this is the baseline code you'll build on.

3. Implement Solutions Stage-by-Stage

For each requested stage, in order:

1. Verify that solutions/<LANGUAGE>/ exists and contains the solution for the stage immediately before the first requested stage (e.g., if implementing stage 3, confirm stage 2's solution is present).
2. Create the stage directory following the naming convention from reference languages (e.g., solutions/<LANGUAGE>/<NN>-<stage-slug>/code/).
   • Constraint: Always verify the exact directory naming convention by inspecting an existing language's solutions/ folder. Stage directories typically follow a pattern like 01-<slug>/, 02-<slug>/, etc.
3. Copy the previous stage's solution as the starting point:
   • Copy from solutions/<LANGUAGE>/<previous-stage>/code/ into the new stage's code/ directory.
4. Read the reference implementations for this specific stage in other languages to understand the expected logic.
5. Implement the solution for this stage only — the minimal code change needed to pass this stage's tests.
   • Constraint: Each stage's solution should be an incremental diff from the previous stage. Do NOT include logic for future stages.
   • Constraint: Match the code style and complexity of reference implementations. Keep it minimal.
   • Constraint: Use the same SDKs/dependencies established in the language's previous stage implementation.
   • Constraint: Do NOT manually edit files in any directory other than solutions/<LANGUAGE>/.
   • Contraint: Do NOT manually create solutions/<LANGUAGE>/diff directory, the compile command handles that.

4. Write Hints

For each requested stage, add hints to solutions/<LANGUAGE>/<stage-number>-<stage-slug>/code/config.yml:

1. Study the hints written for the same stages in reference languages' config.yml files.
2. Write hints that follow the same structure, tone, and level of detail as the reference hints.
   • Match the formatting convention (e.g., markdown in YAML strings, number of hints per stage).
   • Tailor hints to the target language's idioms, standard library, and SDK usage.
3. Ensure the config.yml is valid YAML — watch for indentation, multiline strings, and special characters.

5. The Iteration Loop (Compile & Test)

For each stage, repeat until tests pass:

1. Compile: Run sudo -E course-sdk compile <LANGUAGE>.
   • If it fails: Read the error output, fix the issue in the solution code, and retry.
2. Test: Run sudo -E course-sdk test <LANGUAGE>.
   • If the current stage fails: Compare expected vs. actual output. Cross-reference with how reference languages handle the test case. Adjust and retry.
   • Contraint: The previous stage solutions are guaranteed to not be the problem so do not change them.
3. Move to the next stage only after the current stage passes.

6. Final Verification

Once all requested stages pass:

1. Run a full sudo -E course-sdk test <LANGUAGE> to confirm all implemented stages pass together.
2. Review each stage's solution to ensure:
   • Each stage is an incremental, minimal change from the previous one.
   • No future-stage logic leaked into earlier stages.
   • Code style is clean and consistent with reference implementations.
   • No unnecessary files were created.
3. Review config.yml to ensure:
   • Hints exist for every requested stage.
   • YAML is valid and properly formatted.
   • Hint content is helpful, accurate, and matches the tone of reference languages.

Source: codecrafters-io/course-sdk — distributed by TomeVault.