The execution

The 42 curriculum is adapted to all student profiles. It offers the best training in IT at a personalized pace.

The content

The 2 main parts of the curriculum

The common core: a year and a half to acquire the basics

The 42 curriculum begins with a common core. This experience develops the minimum set of skills, both technical and human. It lasts a maximum of one and a half years, depending on the personal progress, and allows to learn programming in C, to develop simple software using classical algorithms, or to discover the access to the file system and the management of UNIX processes. A first simple approach to network architecture and system administration is also included. The program also includes object-oriented programming and a client-server project. The common core is identical on all partner campuses: the validation allows access to exchanges and inter-campus projects.

The second part: specializing at your own pace

The second part of the curriculum covers the classic fields of digital technology and programming, such as artificial intelligence, security, and mobile application development. It emphasizes project group work and collaboration as well as neutrality with respect to brands, technologies, and languages, in order to develop our students’ ability to adapt and avoid their obsolescence on the job market in 5 or 10 years. The choice of fields is free and brings complementary skills in various expertises. This part of the curriculum also includes internships in companies as well as occasional projects with privileged partners or other schools and even an entrepreneurial program. Students decide for themselves when to stop their studies and become alumni.

In practice

Project examples

ft_transcendence

It’s good to play a video game, it’s better to program one… and it’s much better to organize online games! During the ft_transcendence project, we learn how to recreate the classic Pong game from 1979, integrate it into a website and then make it a platform to challenge each other. The site must be able to propose games between players: it must be able to manage registrations, victories, progression in the ranking, a spectator mode and a chat. This large-scale project is the last one to be validated before leaving the common core and accessing the internships and areas of expertise.

MiniRT

Raytracing is a method for computing images on a computer. It consists of simulating the passage of light: we look for the light sources in the scene to be displayed, which objects are illuminated, and depending on the viewing angle, which light particles are supposed to arrive on the screen. It requires a lot of computing power and has only recently been popularized with certain models of graphics cards for big budget video games. To achieve this, it is necessary to apply scientific formulas and integrate them. Be careful, it is not about doing mathematics or physics: the objective of this project is to demonstrate the opposite. To program, you don’t need to know how to prove a theorem !

famine, pestilence, war and death

Learning how to code a virus is learning IT by trickery. Through four dedicated projects, each of which proposes a new technique, the goal is to discover how such programs work by practice. If to begin with it is only a question of leaving a trace of its passage, the final virus will have to be able to hide itself and even modify its source code. Of course, these viruses are created for educational purposes – and precautions are required when creating and evaluating them. Making them available or using them outside of this framework are grounds for disciplinary sanctions up to exclusion from 42.

push_swap et lem_in

push_swap and lem_in, allow you to better understand software algorithms. In the first one, push_swap, the goal is to put order in a list of numbers in the most efficient way possible. But beware: there is no single way to succeed: you have to be able to create a program that can adapt to all situations! In the second one, lem_in, you have to solve a maze. Of course, the goal is to find the fastest path, even if several options are proposed. The difficulty is to make not only one person but a whole colony of ants go through the maze. Objective? 2 seconds or less!

Corewar

Core War is a programming contest invented by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney. The goal is to have programs called “champions” compete for control of a virtual arena. In the corewar project, you have to be able to recreate, in addition to champions, the arena that will be used as a competition field. The difficulty is not to learn new notions or a new language: the best student champions are invited to participate in a friendly tournament during a dedicated event!

ft_turing

The Turing machine is a mathematical object invented by Alan Turing in 1936. It is comparable to an infinite ribbon, with boxes, that a reading and writing head is able to fill by moving: change a 1 by a 0 for example, skip boxes, go back… ft_turing proposes to create such a machine and then to encode some algorithms. This project also provides an opportunity to learn about the culture and history of programming through the prism of the early 20th century. Please note: before getting started, you must participate and validate a specific pool dedicated to the programming language used, OCaml. Even after the selection tests, pools are offered in order to learn very quickly specific notions or a particular language.

Fract-ol

Fractal patterns are found everywhere in nature – from the smallest, such as snowflakes, to the largest, such as clouds, mountains or even galaxies. They are patterns that repeat themselves over and over again: a triangle whose sides are triangles whose sides are triangles, etc. This project allows you to focus on graphic programming of images while immersing yourself in a psychedelic universe. In addition to being able to display fractal figures, it will be necessary to be able to move around and modify their parameters in real time. The most creative minds can also submit their own improvements to propose really striking images!

Matcha

This project proposes to create a dating site on the Internet. Several features are to be created. First, you have to manage individual profiles, with personal descriptions, interests, but also photos. Then, you have to be able to visit the profile of other people and contact them. Finally, this is where this project gets its name from: it must be possible to find compatible relationships, ” games “, between the members registered on the site. Special attention is required to data security. This project can be written in the technology of one’s choice… and is accessible after a Discovery Pool of a new programming language: Python, Ruby or PHP.

multilayer perceptron

Modern applications of IT can be found everywhere – including in the field of health. Artificial neural networks in particular are programs able to learn from a large data set. The aim of this project is to discover such networks and to implement algorithms in them. The goal is to detect whether a cancer is malignant or benign based on breast cancer diagnoses made in Wisconsin. This project was proposed by the student association specialized in machine learning: 42AI. It has been validated by the pedagogical teams and is now available to all.

What 42 provides

The skills

Imperative programming: C
Functional programming: OCalm; Lisp
Object-oriented programming: C++; C#; Java; Swift; Mobile development
Algorithms and artificial intelligence: Machine learning; Deep learning; Neural network; Genetic algorithms; Mathematics
Graphic programming: Image computation; Games; OpenGL; Vulkan; Metal

Programming system: UNIX; Posix; Kernel; Low level; Embedded systems
System and network administration: Network architecture; System administration; Networking services; LAN and WAN addressing plan; Cloud; DevOps; Virtualization; Continuous integration
Security: Virus; Rootkits; Trojans; Exploits; Firewalls; Countermeasures; Backups; Man-In-The-Middle attack; Package analysis; IP address spoof
Data and databases: SQL; PostgreSQL; MySQL; Oracle; Data structure; NoSQL; Data lake; Data visualization; Data mining
Parallel programming: Threads; Mutexes; Sémaphores; Competitive programming; GPU Programming; Cuda; OpenCL

Adaptation and creativity: Innovation; Lateral thinking
Web: Back development; Full stack development; Frameworks; Rails; Django; Node; React; Symfony
Technological integration: Complex environments; Heterogeneous environments; Company projects

Discipline: Code style; Regression testing
Organization: Personal organization; Project management
Professional experience: Internships; Apprenticeships (optional)
Group and interpersonal: Group management; Communication

End of the training

The 42" certificate

42 is a sustainable training program for long-term integration into the job market. There is no shortage of job offers in the IT industry: as soon as they complete their first internship, two-thirds of our students are offered their first permanent position. The 42 certificate is issued when the student decides to end his or her training after having completed the common core. It attests to the final level obtained at 42. Depending on the student’s personal background, it ranges from level 9 (validation of the common core) to level 21 (validation of several thematic branches available in the curriculum, which may include periods of professionalization).