DSA is no longer about solving random sheets or memorizing solutions. It’s about a clear, structured, and realistic approach from absolute beginner to interview-ready Candidate.
- How to start DSA from zero (even if you don’t know coding)
- When to focus on language basics vs DSA
- A 3-phase preparation strategy used by serious engineers
- Exact timelines for topics, patterns, and problem counts
- Why 300–400 problems ≠ success (and what actually matters)
- How to shift from learning mode to real problem-solving mode
- Contest strategy, mistake tracking, and revision framework
- Advanced concepts you should touch (and when)
DSA Talks: Learn, Solve & Crack: 🎥 Watch Full Playlist on YouTube
150 Programming Sheet: 🎥 150 Sheet Link
150 Programming Video: 🎥 Video Link
Problem Solving: 🎥 Video Link
This phase is only for beginners. If someone knows nothing about coding, don't panic.
Choose one language only (C++ / Java / Python / JavaScript)
❌ No language hopping
❌ No framework first
Your goal here is not DSA. Your goal is to understand the language itself:
- Variables & data types
- Conditions & loops
- Functions
- Arrays & strings
- Basic recursion
- Input / Output thinking
📌 Follow one complete beginner-friendly tutorial from start to end.
After basics, start solving simple programming problems.
This is where 150 Programming Problems Sheet comes in.
Why this phase matters:
- Builds logical thinking
- Improves problem understanding
- Removes fear of problem statements
👉 Don't rush
👉 Don't skip
👉 This phase builds your base
Now you enter structured DSA learning.
- Understand DSA concepts
- Learn patterns
- Understand algorithm flow
- ❌ NOT memorizing solutions
Pick ONE high-quality DSA resource
It must cover:
- Topics from 0 → advanced
- All core data structures
- Common problem-solving patterns
- ~300–400 problems (quality > quantity)
📺 Watch first: "How to Pick the Right DSA Resource"
3–4 months total
Cover everything:
- Arrays → Graphs
- Recursion → DP
- Trees → Advanced patterns
Focus on:
- Concepts
- Flow of algorithms
- Pattern recognition
Now stop learning. Start practicing like an engineer.
This phase decides your interview performance.
- Solve POTD (Problem of the Day)
- Solve random Easy & Medium problems
- ❌ Stop following sheets blindly
When you can:
- ✔ Solve Easy comfortably
- ✔ Solve Medium with effort
➡️ Move to Virtual Contests
- Start with 10–20 virtual contests
- Even 2–3 solved problems are enough
- Focus on:
- Thinking under pressure
- Time management
- Approach clarity
Then move to real contests
- Solve random problems
- Write down mistakes
- Identify weak areas
- Fix them deliberately
- Parallel revision using:
- Problem-solving docs
- Concept-based videos
⏳ Maintain discipline for 4–6 months
Purpose: This chart helps you plan what, how long, and how deep to study each DSA topic from an interview POV.
| Topic Name | Duration | Min Problems | Important (Interview POV) | Difficulty | Status | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time & Space Complexity | 2–3 Days | 10–15 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Basics |
| Arrays | 2 Weeks | 40–50 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy–Medium | Not Started | Core, Foundation |
| Strings | 1 Week | 25–30 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy–Medium | Not Started | Core |
| Recursion Basics | 5–7 Days | 20–25 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core, Foundation |
| Linked List | 1 Week | 25–30 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core |
| Stack | 5–7 Days | 20–25 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core |
| Queue & Deque | 3–4 Days | 15–20 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Easy–Medium | Not Started | Core |
| Hashing | 1 Week | 25–30 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core, Foundation |
| Binary Search (Pattern) | 1 Week | 25–30 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core, Pattern |
| Binary Tree | 2 Weeks | 40–50 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core, Foundation |
| Binary Search Tree (BST) | 5–7 Days | 20–25 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core |
| Heap / Priority Queue | 5–7 Days | 20–25 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core |
| Greedy Algorithms | 5–7 Days | 20–25 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Advanced |
| Backtracking | 1 Week | 20–25 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium–Hard | Not Started | Advanced |
| Dynamic Programming | 3–4 Weeks | 50–60 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Core, Advanced |
| Graph Basics (BFS/DFS) | 1 Week | 25–30 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Core, Foundation |
| Advanced Graphs (MST, SP, DAG) | 2 Weeks | 30–35 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Advanced |
| Bit Manipulation | 3–4 Days | 15–20 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Easy–Medium | Not Started | Optional |
| Math & Number Theory | 3–4 Days | 10–15 | ⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Optional |
| Topic | Pattern | Duration | Min Problems | Important (Interview POV) | Difficulty | Status | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Array | Two Pointers | 2–3 Days | 15–20 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Array | Sliding Window | 2 Days | 10–15 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Array | Prefix Sums | 1–2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Pattern |
| Array | Difference Array | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Pattern |
| Array | Merge Intervals | 2 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Array | Sorting Based Logic | 2 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Array | Subarray / Subsequence | 2 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Array | Kadane's Algorithm | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Array | Cyclic Sort Pattern | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Array | Dutch National Flag | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Binary Search | Basic Binary Search | 1–2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Binary Search | Range Search | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Binary Search | Allocation Problems | 2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Binary Search | Counting Occurrences | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Binary Search | Bitonic Array Search | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Binary Search | Binary Search on Answer | 2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium–Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Binary Search | First True / Last False | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Binary Search | Peak Finding | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| String | Two Pointers | 1–2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Pattern |
| String | Sliding Window | 1–2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| String | HashMap / Frequency | 2 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| String | String Manipulation | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Easy | Not Started | Pattern |
| String | Anagram Pattern | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| String | Rolling Hash (Rabin–Karp) | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Advanced |
| String | Trie Based Problems | 2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| String | Regular Expressions | 1 Day | 3–4 | ⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Optional |
| Recursion | Basic Recursive Functions | 1–2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Recursion | Divide & Conquer | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Recursion | Recursive Search | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Recursion | Backtracking | 2–3 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium–Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Recursion | Pruning Techniques | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Advanced |
| Recursion | State Space Tree | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Recursion | Recursion → DP Conversion | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Linked List | Fast & Slow Pointers | 2 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Linked List | Dummy Node Technique | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Linked List | In-Place Reversal | 1–2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Linked List | Recursive Linked List | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Linked List | Merge & Intersection | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Stack / Queue | Design Problems | 3–4 Days | 15–20 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Stack | Monotonic Stack | 2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Stack | Histogram Pattern | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Stack | Next Greater / Smaller (All Variants) | 1 Day | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Stack | Expression Evaluation | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Stack | Two Stacks / Min Stack | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Queue | Sliding Window + Monotonic Queue | 2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Tree | Traversals | 2 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Tree | Construction | 2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Tree | Mirror & Symmetry | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Tree | Path Sum / Root to Leaf | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Tree | Validation & Properties | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Tree | LCA & Diameter | 2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Tree | Tree Views (Top/Bottom) | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Tree | Flattening Trees | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Tree | Binary Lifting (Intro) | 1 Day | 3–4 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Advanced |
| Heap / PQ | Kth Largest / Smallest | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Heap / PQ | Top K Frequent | 1 Day | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Heap / PQ | Merge K Lists | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Heap / PQ | Sliding Window Max / Min | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Heap / PQ | Streaming Data (Median) | 1–2 Days | 4–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Heap / PQ | Greedy + Heap | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| DP | Basic Dynamic Programming | 2–3 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| DP | Optimal Substructure | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| DP | DP on Subsequences | 2 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| DP | Knapsack Problems | 3 Days | 10–12 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| DP | Interval / Range DP | 2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Pattern |
| DP | Counting DP | 2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| DP | DP on Trees | 2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Advanced |
| DP | Bitmask DP | 2 Days | 5–6 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Advanced |
| DP | Digit DP (Intro) | 1 Day | 3–4 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Advanced |
| Graph | Connected Components | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Graph | Grid-Based BFS / DFS | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Graph | Multi-Source BFS | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Graph | Cycle Detection | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Graph | Bipartite Graph Check | 1 Day | 4–5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Graph | Shortest Path (BFS / Dijkstra) | 2–3 Days | 8–10 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium–Hard | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Graph | Union-Find (DSU) | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Graph | Minimum Spanning Tree | 2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern |
| Graph | DAG / Topological Sort | 1–2 Days | 6–8 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Not Started | Pattern, Core |
| Graph | Strongly Connected Components | 1 Day | 3–4 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Hard | Not Started | Advanced |
| Meta | Problem Reduction Pattern | Continuous | — | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Conceptual | Ongoing | Meta-Pattern |
Total Topics in Chart 1: 19
Total Patterns in Chart 2: 90+
Estimated Total Time: 6–10 months (depending on consistency, disciple and hardwork)
Current Progress: 0%
- Update the Status column as you complete topics/patterns (Not Started → In Progress → Completed)
- Use the Tags column to filter by importance (Core, Pattern, Advanced, Optional)
- Focus on 5-star rated topics/patterns first - these are critical for interviews
- Don't skip easier topics thinking they're "too simple" - they build your foundation
- Review completed topics periodically to maintain retention
- Segment Tree & Fenwick Tree (BIT) – For efficient range queries and updates.
- Disjoint Set Union (Union-Find) – Used in Kruskal’s MST and cycle detection in graphs.
- KMP & Rabin-Karp Algorithm – Essential for efficient string pattern matching.
- Number Theory & Mathematics – Covers GCD, LCM, Modular Arithmetic, and Prime Factorization.
- Advanced Graph Algorithms – Includes Tarjan’s (SCC), Floyd-Warshall, and Johnson’s Algorithm
- Suffix Array & Suffix Tree – Useful for advanced string matching problems.
- Mo’s Algorithm – Optimized approach for answering range queries offline.
- Game Theory – Includes Grundy numbers, Nim Game, and optimal strategies.
- Trie + Bit Manipulation – Useful for problems involving XOR queries and efficient searching.
- Heavy-Light Decomposition (HLD) – Advanced technique for handling tree queries efficiently.
🔔 Update: This document will be continuously updated based on industry trends and interview requirements, with new patterns, topics, and advanced concepts added over time.
True DSA