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
●​ 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
○​ 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:
○​ 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:
○​ 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
○​ 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:
○​ 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)
○​ 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:
○​ 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:
○​ 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
 ○​ 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:
○​ 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
○​ 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!