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Essential Coding Patterns for Interviews

This document discusses 12 common coding patterns and their applications in system design interviews. The patterns covered are sliding window, two heaps, topological sort, two pointers, merge intervals, backtracking, trie, flood fill, segment tree, breadth-first search, depth-first search, and union-find. For each pattern, the document provides a definition, examples of usage, and additional details.

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Ali Samir
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688 views14 pages

Essential Coding Patterns for Interviews

This document discusses 12 common coding patterns and their applications in system design interviews. The patterns covered are sliding window, two heaps, topological sort, two pointers, merge intervals, backtracking, trie, flood fill, segment tree, breadth-first search, depth-first search, and union-find. For each pattern, the document provides a definition, examples of usage, and additional details.

Uploaded by

Ali Samir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Introduction to Coding Patterns: Introduces key coding patterns used in system design interviews and their applications.
  • 1. Sliding Window: Explains the sliding window technique for optimizing problem solutions, with examples such as network congestion control.
  • 2. Two Heaps: Describes the use of two heaps for managing a dynamic dataset or implementing priority queues.
  • 3. Topological Sort: Outlines the topological sorting method for ordering vertices in a directed acyclic graph.
  • 4. Two Pointers: Introduces the two-pointer technique to navigate arrays for solutions like binary search.
  • 5. Merge Intervals: Details how to merge overlapping intervals for resource allocation problems.
  • 6. Backtracking: Explores the backtracking method for generating permutations and solving constraint problems.
  • 7. Trie (Prefix Tree): Discusses the trie data structure for efficiently storing strings based on prefixes.
  • 8. Flood Fill: Presents the flood fill algorithm for painting in graphics or traversing grids.
  • 9. Segment Tree: Introduces segment trees for performing efficient range queries and updates.
  • 10. Breadth-First Search (BFS): Describes BFS for level-order traversal in graphs, applicable in web crawling and network analysis.
  • 11. Depth-First Search (DFS): Covers DFS for exhaustive exploration of graph branches, useful in maze solving.
  • 12. Union-Find (Disjoint Set): Explains the union-find structure for managing disjoint sets and connectivity queries.
  • Conclusion: Encourages the use of introduced techniques for improving design skills in coding interviews.

12 Must Know

Coding Patterns
&
Their Applications in
System Design Interview

DesignGurus.io
1. Sliding Window
Maintains a "window" of elements in a data
structure (usually an array or a string) to
optimize the solution of a problem.

Usage:
Network congestion control algorithms (like
TCP)
Data compression algorithms (like LZ77)
DesignGurus.io
2. Two Heaps
Uses two heaps (min-heap and max-heap) to
maintain a specific order of elements to
efficiently solve problems

Usage:
Managing a priority queue in a schedule.
Implementing Dijkstra's shortest path
algorithm.
Maintaining the median of a dynamic data
set.
DesignGurus.io
3. Topological Sort
Used for linear ordering of the vertices of a
directed acyclic graph (DAG) such that for every
directed edge (u, v), vertex u comes before
vertex v in the ordering.

Usage:
Scheduling tasks with dependencies.
Determining the order of compilation for a
set of source files.

DesignGurus.io
4. Two Pointers
Uses two pointers that move through the data
structure (often an array) in a coordinated
manner to solve problems.

Usage:
Merge-sort algorithm.
Binary search.

DesignGurus.io
5. Merge Intervals
Involves merging of overlapping or continuous
intervals in a given data structure (usually an
array or a list) to optimize solutions for a
specific problem.

Usage:
Scheduling meeting rooms.
Managing calendar events.
Optimizing resource allocation.

DesignGurus.io
6. Backtracking
Tries out different possibilities, undoing them,
and then trying out new paths until a solution is
found.

Usage:
Solving Sudoku puzzles.
Generating permutations and combinations.

DesignGurus.io
7. Trie (Prefix Tree)
Uses a tree-like data structure to efficiently
store and retrieve strings based on their
prefixes.

Usage:
Implementing an autocomplete system.
Spell checkers.
IP routing (Longest Prefix Matching).

DesignGurus.io
8. Flood Fill
Traverses a 2D grid (matrix) and replacing
connected elements of a specific value with a
new value.

Usage:
Filling a bounded area in graphics editors
(like MS Paint).
Counting connected regions in a 2D grid.

DesignGurus.io
9. Segment Tree
Uses a tree-like data structure to efficiently
perform range queries and updates on an array
or a list.

Usage:
Range queries in databases.
Calculating range-based statistics (e.g.,
minimum, maximum, sum).

DesignGurus.io
10. Breadth-First Search (BFS)
Traverses a tree or a graph using a breadth-first
approach, visiting all nodes at the current level
before moving to the next level.

Usage:
Web crawlers.
Social network analysis (finding friends of
friends) Routing algorithms (like OSPF) in
networking.

DesignGurus.io
11. Depth-First Search (DFS)
Traverses a tree or a graph using a depth-first
approach, visiting a node and exploring as far as
possible along a branch before backtracking.

Usage:
Solving mazes.
Finding connected components in a graph.
Generating permutations or combinations.

DesignGurus.io
12. Union-Find (Disjoint Set)
Uses a data structure to keep track of disjoint
sets and efficiently perform union and find
operations on them.

Usage:
Network connectivity
Finding connected components in a graph

DesignGurus.io
➡ Follow these techniques to distinguish
yourself from others!

➡ Learn more about these patterns in


"Grokking the Coding Interview" and
"Grokking the System Design Interview"
from DesignGurus.io

DesignGurus.io

12 Must Know Coding Patterns & Their Applications in System Design Interview DesignGurus.io
Maintains a "window" of elements in a data structure (usually an array or a string) to optimize the solution of a problem. Sl
Uses two heaps (min-heap and max-heap) to maintain a specific order of elements to efficiently solve problems 2. Two Heaps Ma
Used for linear ordering of the vertices of a directed acyclic graph (DAG) such that for every directed edge (u, v), vertex u
Uses two pointers that move through the data structure (often an array) in a coordinated manner to solve problems. 4. Two Poi
Involves merging of overlapping or continuous intervals in a given data structure (usually an array or a list) to optimize so
Tries out different possibilities, undoing them, and then trying out new paths until a solution is found. 6. Backtracking Sol
Uses a tree-like data structure to efficiently store and retrieve strings based on their prefixes. 7. Trie (Prefix Tree) Impl
Traverses a 2D grid (matrix) and replacing connected elements of a specific value with a new value. 8. Flood Fill Filling a b
Uses a tree-like data structure to efficiently perform range queries and updates on an array or a list. 9. Segment Tree Range

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