DSA Study Guide

FULL DSA COURSE GUIDE - KABIROSKY (20+ LPA)

Overview:

This study guide is designed for a comprehensive approach to mastering Data Structures and
Algorithms (DSA) over three months. It balances theory, coding practice, and problem-solving
while integrating real-world applications to build a strong foundation in DSA.

Month 1: Foundation Building

Week 1: Time & Space Complexity, Big O Notation

● Introduction: Complexity analysis helps evaluate the performance of algorithms. Big

O, Big Theta, and Big Omega notations describe the worst, average, and best-case
scenarios of algorithms in terms of time and space.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Time Complexity (Best, Average, Worst case)

○ Space Complexity

○ Big O, Big Theta, Big Omega

○ Amortized Analysis

● Recommended Resources:

○ Big-O Cheat Sheet

○ Video: "Time Complexity Analysis" (by Abdul Bari on YouTube)

○ Platform: GeeksforGeeks - Time Complexity

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 ● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Time Complexity

○ Medium: Running Time of Algorithms

○ Hard: Maximum Subarray Sum

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 6 hours

○ Practice: 6 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

● Review: Revisit key subtopics, and revise complexity analysis problems.

Week 2: Arrays and Strings

● Introduction: Arrays and strings are fundamental linear data structures. They are used
for storing elements in a contiguous block of memory.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Array operations (insertion, deletion, searching)

○ Two-pointer technique

○ Sliding window approach

○ String manipulation

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Arrays in Data Structures" (by Jenny’s Lectures)

○ Platform: LeetCode Arrays

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 ○ Platform: GeeksforGeeks - Strings

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Two Sum

○ Medium: Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters

○ Hard: Minimum Window Substring

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 8 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

● Review: Reinforce string and array manipulation problems, two-pointer technique.

Week 3: Linked Lists

● Introduction: Linked lists store elements dynamically. They allow efficient

insertions/deletions.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Singly Linked List

○ Doubly Linked List

○ Circular Linked List

○ Fast & Slow pointers, cycle detection

● Recommended Resources:
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 ○ Video: "Linked Lists in Detail" (by FreeCodeCamp)

○ Platform: GeeksforGeeks - Linked Lists

○ Platform: LeetCode Linked List

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Reverse Linked List

○ Medium: Add Two Numbers

○ Hard: Merge K Sorted Lists

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 6 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

● Review: Practice problems with pointer manipulation and linked list operations.

Week 4: Stacks and Queues

● Introduction: Stacks follow LIFO, while queues follow FIFO. They are widely used in
problem-solving, including recursion and breadth-first search.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Stack operations (push, pop, peek)

○ Queue operations (enqueue, dequeue)

○ Implementation using arrays and linked lists

● Recommended Resources:
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 ○ Video: "Stacks and Queues" (by MyCodeSchool)

○ Platform: GeeksforGeeks - Stacks

○ Platform: LeetCode Stacks

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Valid Parentheses

○ Medium: Largest Rectangle in Histogram

○ Hard: Sliding Window Maximum

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 6 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

● Review: Practice stack and queue manipulation problems.

Month 2: Intermediate Data Structures

Week 5: Hashing

● Introduction: Hashing allows efficient searching and retrieval using hash tables.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Hash Tables, Maps, Sets

○ Collisions and Resolution Techniques

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 ○ Applications of hashing

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Hashing Techniques" (by Jenny’s Lectures)

○ Platform: LeetCode Hash Table

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Two Sum

○ Medium: Subarray Sum Equals K

○ Hard: Longest Consecutive Sequence

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 6 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

Week 6: Trees

● Introduction: Trees represent hierarchical data and are essential for efficient searching
and sorting.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Binary Trees, Binary Search Trees

○ Tree traversal techniques (Preorder, Inorder, Postorder)

○ Balanced Trees (AVL, Red-Black Trees)

● Recommended Resources:
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 ○ Video: "Trees and Binary Search Trees" (by CS50 Harvard)

○ Platform: GeeksforGeeks - Binary Trees

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Binary Tree Inorder Traversal

○ Medium: Construct Binary Tree from Preorder and Inorder Traversal

○ Hard: Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 8 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

Week 7: Heaps and Priority Queues

● Introduction: Heaps are used to maintain the maximum or minimum element

efficiently.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Min-Heap, Max-Heap

○ Heap Sort

○ Priority Queues

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Heaps and Priority Queues" (by Abdul Bari)

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 ○ Platform: LeetCode Heap

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Kth Largest Element in an Array

○ Medium: Top K Frequent Elements

○ Hard: Find Median from Data Stream

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 6 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

Week 8: Graphs

● Introduction: Graphs are used to represent networks and are crucial in solving routing
problems.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Graph Representation (Adjacency List, Matrix)

○ BFS, DFS

○ Cycle Detection

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Graph Algorithms" (by Tushar Roy)

○ Platform: GeeksforGeeks - Graphs

● Practice Problems:
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 ○ Easy: Graph Traversal

○ Medium: Course Schedule

○ Hard: Word Ladder

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 8 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

Month 3: Advanced Algorithms & Optimization

Week 9: Greedy Algorithms

● Introduction: Greedy algorithms solve problems by making the best local decision at
each step.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Activity Selection Problem

○ Fractional Knapsack

○ Huffman Coding

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Greedy Algorithms" (by Abdul Bari)

○ Platform: GeeksforGeeks - Greedy Algorithms

● Practice Problems:
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 ○ Easy: Greedy Algorithm for Activity Selection

○ Medium: Job Scheduling

○ Hard: Minimum Cost to Connect Sticks

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 6 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

Week 10: Divide and Conquer

● Introduction: Divide and conquer solves problems by breaking them down into smaller
subproblems.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Merge Sort

○ Quick Sort

○ Binary Search

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Divide and Conquer Algorithms" (by CS50)

○ Platform: LeetCode Divide and Conquer

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Binary Search

○ Medium: Merge Sort

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 ○ Hard: Kth Smallest Element in a Sorted Matrix

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 8 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

Week 11: Dynamic Programming (DP)

● Introduction: Dynamic Programming solves problems by breaking them into

overlapping subproblems and storing solutions.

● Key Subtopics:

○ Memoisation and Tabulation

○ Classical DP Problems (Knapsack, LIS)

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Dynamic Programming Simplified" (by Tushar Roy)

○ Platform: LeetCode Dynamic Programming

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Climbing Stairs

○ Medium: Longest Increasing Subsequence

○ Hard: Edit Distance

● Time Allocation:
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 ○ Learning: 8 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours

○ Revision: 2 hours

Week 12: Backtracking and Recursion

● Introduction: Backtracking solves constraint satisfaction problems by exploring all

possible configurations.

● Key Subtopics:

○ N-Queens Problem

○ Sudoku Solver

○ Subset Generation

● Recommended Resources:

○ Video: "Backtracking Explained" (by CS50)

○ Platform: LeetCode Backtracking

● Practice Problems:

○ Easy: Subsets

○ Medium: Combination Sum

○ Hard: N-Queens

● Time Allocation:

○ Learning: 8 hours

○ Practice: 8 hours
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 ○ Revision: 2 hours

Final Week: Mock Interview Prep and Revision

● Revise: Revisit all the key topics.

● Mock Interview Questions:

○ Practice questions from LeetCode's "Top Interview Questions."

○ Focus on time-bound problem-solving.

● Project: Implement a project using DSA concepts. For example, build a dynamic task
scheduler using heaps and graphs or develop a pathfinding algorithm using BFS and
DFS in a game or map-routing application.

Additional Tips:

● Competitive Programming: Spend 1-2 hours per week on platforms like Codeforces
and LeetCode to sharpen problem-solving speed.

● Advanced Learning: Post-DSA, explore system design and contribute to open-source

projects to apply your knowledge.

This guide will ensure a strong command over DSA and problem-solving skills!
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