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.
Amazing resource, thank you brother. Keep inspiring us.