Skip to content
/ DSA_102 Public

This repository contains the complete specification, prompts, and generation system for the DSA Master Curriculum v12.1, a 19-week, narrative-first, institutional-grade Data Structures & Algorithms program that builds mental models, system-level intuition, and pattern-based interview mastery.

Notifications You must be signed in to change notification settings

dip4k/DSA_102

Folders and files

NameName
Last commit message
Last commit date

Latest commit

 

History

31 Commits
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Repository files navigation

📚 DSA Master Curriculum v13

Narrative-First, Interview-Ready, Production-Grade

Version: 13.0 (Professional Edition, Complete Syllabus)
Status: ✅ Complete, MIT-Level Depth, v13 Comprehensive Syllabus-Aligned
License: 📜 MIT (Free for learning and teaching)


🎯 What This Is

This is a comprehensive, narrative-driven Data Structures and Algorithms curriculum designed to transform you from foundational understanding (RAM model, Big-O, recursion) to mastery (advanced patterns, systems design, production-grade code, interview readiness) over 19 weeks.

It preserves the structure, tone, and visual style of professional DSA education, while delivering the complete phase, week, and day-by-day syllabus aligned with COMPLETE_SYLLABUS_v13.md (v13.0).

🧠 Core Philosophy

  • 🎓 Mental Models First — Understand why before how. Systems-level thinking precedes code.
  • 📖 Narrative-Driven — Reads like MIT lecture notes from a master teacher, not a reference manual checklist.
  • ⚙️ Systems-Grounded — Every concept connects to real production systems (Linux kernel, PostgreSQL, Redis, Netflix engineering).
  • 🎨 Pattern-Centric — 180+ topics organized as learnable, reusable patterns across interview problems.
  • 🎯 Interview-Ready — ~98% coverage of real FAANG-style technical interview question patterns.
  • 💻 Production-Grade Code — C# implementations with professional quality, not LeetCode spaghetti.
  • 🌐 Visual + Interactive — 30+ ASCII diagrams per week + dedicated visual playbooks and external visualization tools.

✨ Why This Curriculum Is Different

❌ Traditional Approach (Memorization)

  • Grind 100–500 LeetCode problems
  • Study algorithms in isolation, disconnected from systems
  • Learn code templates without understanding invariants or trade-offs
  • Hope interview questions match what you practiced
  • Fight against forgetting (high cognitive load, low retention)

✅ v13 Approach (Understanding)

  • Build mental models of how data structures live in memory
  • Understand why some algorithms are faster (cache behavior, locality, CPU physics)
  • Learn patterns that appear across 100+ problems (two-pointer, window, DP families, graph templates)
  • See real systems (Linux, PostgreSQL, Redis, search engines) using these ideas
  • Walk into interviews confident you can solve new variants, not just memorize old ones
  • Retain knowledge via narrative flow, spaced repetition, and multi-angle explanations

🛠️ Five Core Competencies You Build

  1. 🖥️ Hardware Intuition
    Understand cache lines, virtual memory, TLB, page faults, pointer chasing, CPU pipelines, SIMD. Know why contiguous arrays often beat pointer-heavy structures.

  2. 📊 Complexity Mastery
    Analyze time and space complexity, prove bounds with recurrences, recognize amortized behavior, and know when Big-O hides important constants.

  3. 🔍 Pattern Recognition
    Spot the same algorithmic ideas across many problems: two-pointer, sliding windows, monotonic stack, BFS/DFS, subset DP, flows, etc.

  4. ⚖️ Trade-off Thinking
    Choose between arrays vs linked lists, hash tables vs balanced trees, heap vs sort, greedy vs DP, recursion vs iteration. Explain trade-offs clearly.

  5. 🏭 Systems Perspective
    Connect DSA to real production engineering: indexes in databases, schedulers, caches, graph engines, search, load balancing, etc.


👥 Who Should Use This

✅ Perfect For

  • 🎓 CS Students: Campus placements, internships, strong foundations
  • 🏫 Bootcamp Graduates: First-principles DSA after intense coding practice
  • 🤖 Self-Taught Developers: Structured, end-to-end FAANG-style interview prep
  • 💼 Working Professionals: 2–8+ years experience aiming for senior/staff roles
  • 🎯 Interview Candidates: Targeting Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, and top product companies

📋 Prerequisites

  • ✅ Basic programming in any language (C, C++, Python, Java, C#, Go, TypeScript, etc.)
  • ✅ Understanding of arrays, loops, functions, basic OOP
  • ✅ Willingness to commit 10–15 hours/week for 19 weeks (or more for acceleration)
  • ✅ Curiosity about how things actually work under the hood

⏱️ Time Commitment

Path Duration Hours/Week Best For
Complete Mastery 16–20 weeks 10–15 Deep understanding, elite readiness
Interview Acceleration 6–8 weeks 20–30 Working professionals, tight deadlines
Quick Reference 2–4 weeks Flexible Last-mile prep, topic refresh

📊 Curriculum Overview: 7 Phases, 19 Weeks (v13.0)

Phase Weeks Focus Topics Interview Coverage Goal
🟦 A: Foundations 1–3 RAM model, Big-O, Recursion, Linear DS, Sorting, Hashing 15+ core 25–30% Foundation Set
🟩 B: Core Patterns 4–6 Two-Pointer, Sliding Window, Hash/Stack/Intervals, Strings 15+ core 70–80% Strong Base
🟨 C: Trees, Graphs & DP 7–11 Trees, BSTs, Graphs, Shortest Paths, DP I–II 25+ core 80–88% Competent
🟧 D: Paradigms 12–13 Greedy, Algorithm Paradigms, Amortized Analysis 10+ core 85–90% Proficient
🟪 E: Integration & Extensions 14–15 Matrix problems, Backtracking, Bits, Advanced Strings & Flow 15+ core 90–95% Advanced
🟫 F: Deep Dives (Optional) 16–18 Segment Trees, BIT, Geometry, HLD, FFT, Probabilistic DS 15+ advanced 95%+ Elite
🔴 G: Mock Interviews 19 Full Mock Interviews, Weak Points, Final Prep Integration 98% Interview Ready

📂 How to Use This Repository: Three Paths

🎯 Path 1: Complete Mastery (16–20 weeks, 10–15 hrs/week)

Goal: Deep understanding, systems-aware, production-ready, interview-ready
Best For: Students, career changers, lifelong learners, elite preparation

Week 1–3 : Build foundations (RAM model, Big-O, recursion, space)
Week 4–6 : Master core patterns (arrays & strings)
Week 7–11: Trees, graphs, DP I–II (classic CS core)
Week 12–13: Paradigms (greedy, algorithm paradigms, amortized analysis)
Week 14–15: Integration (matrix problems, backtracking, bits, advanced strings, intro to flow)
Week 16–18: Optional deep dives (segment trees, BIT, geometry, HLD, FFT, probabilistic DS)
Week 19   : Mock interviews & integration

Expected Outcomes:

  • ✅ Understand core algorithms from first principles
  • ✅ Solve 90%+ of common coding interview problems
  • ✅ Write production-quality C# implementations
  • ✅ Explain trade-offs and systems implications

⚡ Path 2: Interview Acceleration (6–8 weeks, 20–30 hrs/week)

Goal: Solve 85%+ of interview problems, with strong pattern recognition
Best For: Working professionals with limited time

Pre-Week:  2–3 hour crash review of Weeks 1–3 (summaries + visuals)
Week 1 :   Weeks 4–5 (Two-pointer, windows, Tier 1 critical patterns)
Week 2 :   Week 6 (strings) + core of Week 7 (tree basics)
Week 3 :   Weeks 8–9 (graph fundamentals, shortest paths, MST)
Week 4 :   Weeks 10–11 (DP fundamentals + trees/DAGs)
Week 5 :   Weeks 12–13 (greedy, algorithm paradigms, amortized)
Week 6–8:  Week 19-style mocks + focused gap-filling using Summaries & QA

Expected Outcomes:

  • ✅ Strong pattern classification across 100+ patterns
  • ✅ Ability to solve most medium/hard interview problems
  • ✅ Clear, structured communication during interviews

📌 Path 3: Quick Reference (2–4 weeks, flexible)

Goal: Targeted refresh and gap-filling before interviews
Best For: Experienced developers who need structured revision

Need trees/graphs?  → Week 7–9 Summaries + Roadmaps + Interview_QA
Weak on DP?         → Week 10–11 + Week 15 Summaries + Visual Playbooks
String algorithms?   → Week 6 + Week 15
Greedy/amortized?    → Week 12–13
Flows/advanced DS?   → Weeks 16–18 overview

Benefits:

  • ✅ No wasted time on topics you already know
  • ✅ Fast "map" of what to review for a given role

📖 Inside Each Week: The File Ecosystem

Every week follows a consistent file structure so you always know where to go.

📋 File 1: WeekX_Guidelines.md (3,000–4,000 words)

Purpose: 🧭 Strategic weekly overview and learning roadmap
Contains:

  • 🎯 Learning arc (why this week matters, how it fits into the 19-week journey)
  • 📅 Day-by-day overview (mental models, not just topic names)
  • ⏱️ Time allocation guidance (theory vs practice vs review)
  • 🚫 5–7 week-specific pitfalls and how to avoid them
  • 🗺️ ASCII concept map for the week
  • ✨ 7–10 key insights (aha moments)
  • ✅ Weekly mastery checklist

Use When: Starting the week, or when you feel lost about direction


📚 File 2: WeekX_Summary_KeyConcepts.md (3,500–5,000 words)

Purpose: 📖 Detailed reference for conceptual mastery
Contains:

  • 📝 Explanations of all topics from all days
  • 🔄 Comparison tables (e.g., array vs list, BFS vs DFS, greedy vs DP)
  • ❌ 7–10 misconceptions corrected
  • 🏭 Real-systems examples (Linux, PostgreSQL, Redis, etc.)
  • 💡 Multiple mental models per concept

Use When: Deep study, concept consolidation, or pre-interview revision


🎙️ File 3: WeekX_Interview_QA_Reference.md (3,000–4,000 words)

Purpose: 🎯 Interview coaching with 30–50 carefully crafted questions
Contains:

  • ❓ 30–50 interview questions (no answers, to force active recall)
  • ➡️ 2–3 depth-based follow-ups per question
  • 🟢 Difficulty tags (Easy/Medium/Hard)
  • 💡 Guidance for mock interviews and self-evaluation

Use When: Practicing interviews, or stress-testing your understanding


🗺️ File 4: WeekX_Problem_Solving_Roadmap.md (3,000–4,000 words)

Purpose: 🎓 Structured problem-solving strategy and problem selection
Contains:

  • 🎯 3-stage progression: Mastery → Analysis → Application
  • 📊 Progression tables (which problems to do at which level)
  • ⚠️ 5–7 problem-solving pitfalls + defensive strategies
  • 🔧 Pattern and data-structure selection decision matrix
  • 📋 Pattern templates and pseudocode skeletons

Use When: Choosing problems to solve, or debugging your problem-solving process


✅ File 5: WeekX_Daily_Progress_Checklist.md (2,000–3,000 words)

Purpose: 🎯 Daily action plan
Contains:

  • 📅 Day-wise checklists (Mon–Sat)
  • 🧠 Specific concepts to internalize each day
  • 🏋️ Structured exercises (trace, draw, code, review)
  • 🔗 Weekly integration tasks
  • 🤔 Reflection prompts

Use When: Planning or reviewing your daily study routine


🎬 File 6: Instructional Files (5–6 per week, 12,000–18,000 words each)

Purpose: 🏫 Deep learning in narrative form (MIT-style lectures)
Structure (5-Chapter Arc):

  1. 🎣 Context & Motivation
  2. 🧠 Mental Model
  3. ⚙️ Mechanics & Implementation
  4. 🏭 Performance & Real Systems
  5. 🎓 Integration & Mastery

Use When: You need to truly understand a concept, not just memorize patterns


🎨 File 7: WeekX_VisualConceptsPlaybook_HYBRID.md (~18,000 words)

Purpose: 🖼️ Offline visual learning + enhanced with external tools
Contains:

  • 🗺️ Pattern family trees (per day)
  • 📊 30+ ASCII diagrams & trace tables per week
  • ⚠️ Failure modes (wrong vs right, side-by-side)
  • ❓ 15 quiz questions (no answers)
  • 🌐 Links to interactive visual tools

Use When: You are a visual learner or need quick, diagram-based revision


💻 File 8: WeekX_ProblemSolving_Roadmap_Extended_CSharp.md (3,000–4,000 words)

Purpose: 💻 Production-grade C# implementations and patterns
Contains:

  • 🎯 Problem "signals" mapped to patterns and C# collections
  • 💡 C#-specific mental model per pattern
  • 🔧 C# skeletons (guard clauses, comments explaining why, not just what)
  • 📚 Notes on performance characteristics and pitfalls
  • 🪜 C#-focused problem ladders

Use When: Implementing in C# or preparing for C#-heavy interviews


📋 Detailed Week-by-Week Breakdown (v13.0)

🟦 PHASE A: FOUNDATIONS & COMPUTATIONAL THINKING (Weeks 1–3)

🧠 Week 1: Computational Fundamentals, Peak Finding & Asymptotics

Topics: RAM Model, Pointers, Complexity Analysis, Space, Recursion I-II, Peak Finding

  • 📅 Day 1: RAM Model, Virtual Memory, Pointers
  • 📅 Day 2: Asymptotic Analysis (Big-O, Big-Ω, Big-Θ)
  • 📅 Day 3: Space Complexity
  • 📅 Day 4: Recursion I (Call Stack & Patterns)
  • 📅 Day 5: Recursion II (Memoization & Advanced)
  • 🌟 Day 6 (Optional): Peak Finding (1D & 2D, MIT 6.006)

🗂️ Week 2: Linear Data Structures & Binary Search

Topics: Arrays, Dynamic Arrays, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues, Binary Search

  • 📅 Day 1: Static Arrays & Memory Layout
  • 📅 Day 2: Dynamic Arrays & Amortized Growth
  • 📅 Day 3: Linked Lists & Cache Effects
  • 📅 Day 4: Stacks, Queues & Deques
  • 📅 Day 5: Binary Search & Invariants

🔀 Week 3: Sorting, Heaps & Hashing

Topics: Elementary Sorts, Merge/Quick Sort, Heaps, Hash Tables

  • 📅 Day 1: Elementary Sorts (Bubble, Selection, Insertion)
  • 📅 Day 2: Merge Sort & Quick Sort
  • 📅 Day 3: Heaps, Heapify & Heap Sort
  • 📅 Day 4: Hash Tables I (Separate Chaining)
  • 📅 Day 5: Hash Tables II (Open Addressing & Rolling Hash)

🟩 PHASE B: CORE PATTERNS & STRING MANIPULATION (Weeks 4–6)

👉 Week 4: Core Problem-Solving Patterns I

Topics: Two-Pointer, Sliding Window, Divide & Conquer, Binary Search as Pattern

  • 📅 Day 1: Two-Pointer Techniques
  • 📅 Day 2: Sliding Window (Fixed Size)
  • 📅 Day 3: Sliding Window (Variable Size)
  • 📅 Day 4: Divide & Conquer Pattern
  • 📅 Day 5: Binary Search as Pattern

Interview Coverage: 25–30%
Mastery: 60–70 problems solved


🌟 Week 5: Tier 1 Critical Patterns

Topics: Hash Maps, Monotonic Stack, Intervals, Partition & Kadane, Fast-Slow Pointers

  • 📅 Day 1: Hash Map & Hash Set Patterns
  • 📅 Day 2: Monotonic Stack
  • 📅 Day 3: Merge Operations & Interval Patterns
  • 📅 Day 4: Partition, Cyclic Sort & Kadane's Algorithm
  • 📅 Day 5: Fast-Slow Pointers & Cycle Detection

Interview Coverage: 40–50%
Milestone: 70–80% interview problem coverage by end of week


📝 Week 6: String Manipulation Patterns

Topics: Palindromes, Substrings, Parentheses, String Building, Matching

  • 📅 Day 1: Palindrome Patterns
  • 📅 Day 2: Substring & Sliding Window
  • 📅 Day 3: Parentheses & Bracket Matching
  • 📅 Day 4: String Transformations & Building
  • 🌟 Day 5 (Optional): String Matching & Rolling Hash

Interview Coverage: 10–15%
Total to Date: 80%+ interview problems


🟨 PHASE C: TREES, GRAPHS & DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING (Weeks 7–11)

🌲 Week 7: Trees & Balanced Search Trees

Topics: Binary Trees, Traversals, BSTs, AVL Trees, Red-Black Trees, Tree Patterns, Augmented Trees

  • 📅 Day 1: Binary Trees & Traversals
  • 📅 Day 2: Binary Search Trees (BSTs)
  • 📅 Day 3: Balanced BSTs (AVL & Red-Black)
  • 📅 Day 4: Tree Patterns (Paths, Diameter, LCA)
  • 🌟 Day 5 (Optional): Augmented Trees & Order-Statistics

🌐 Week 8: Graph Fundamentals

Topics: Graph Models, Representations, BFS, DFS, Connectivity, Bipartite Graphs, SCCs

  • 📅 Day 1: Graph Models & Representations
  • 📅 Day 2: Breadth-First Search (BFS)
  • 📅 Day 3: Depth-First Search (DFS)
  • 📅 Day 4: Topological Sort & Cycle Detection
  • 📅 Day 5: Connectivity & Advanced Search (2-Color, SCCs)

🔗 Week 9: Graph Algorithms I – Shortest Paths & MST

Topics: Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, Floyd-Warshall, Kruskal, Prim, Union-Find

  • 📅 Day 1: Dijkstra's Algorithm
  • 📅 Day 2: Bellman-Ford & Negative Cycles
  • 📅 Day 3: Floyd-Warshall (All-Pairs Shortest Paths)
  • 📅 Day 4: Minimum Spanning Trees (Kruskal & Prim)
  • 🌟 Day 5: Union-Find (Disjoint Set Union)

💾 Week 10: Dynamic Programming I – Fundamentals

Topics: DP Basics, 1D DP, 2D DP, Knapsack Family, LCS, LIS, Sequence DP

  • 📅 Day 1: DP Basics & Memoization vs Tabulation
  • 📅 Day 2: 1D DP (Stairs, House Robber, Coin Change)
  • 📅 Day 3: 2D DP (Grids, Edit Distance)
  • 📅 Day 4: Sequence DP (LCS, LIS)
  • 🌟 Day 5 (Optional): Story-Driven DP Problems

🧠 Week 11: Dynamic Programming II – Advanced

Topics: DP on Trees, DP on DAGs, Bitmask DP, Subset DP, State Compression

  • 📅 Day 1: DP on Trees (Diameter, Independent Set)
  • 📅 Day 2: DP on DAGs (Topological Order, Path Counting)
  • 📅 Day 3: Bitmask & Subset DP (TSP, Hamiltonian Paths)
  • 📅 Day 4: State Space Optimization & Circular Arrays
  • 🌟 Day 5 (Optional): Complex Mixed DP Problems

🟧 PHASE D: ALGORITHM PARADIGMS (Weeks 12–13)

💰 Week 12: Greedy Algorithms & Exchange Arguments

Topics: Greedy Choice Property, Interval Scheduling, Activity Selection, Huffman Coding, Exchange Arguments

  • 📅 Day 1: Greedy Algorithm Fundamentals
  • 📅 Day 2: Interval Scheduling & Activity Selection
  • 📅 Day 3: MST as Greedy (Cut Property & Proof)
  • 📅 Day 4: Huffman Coding & Optimal Prefix Trees
  • 📅 Day 5: When Greedy Fails (Counterexamples vs DP)

📊 Week 13: Backtracking & Branch & Bound

Topics: Backtracking Fundamentals, Backtracking Problems, Branch & Bound, Amortized Analysis

  • 📅 Day 1: Backtracking Fundamentals
  • 📅 Day 2: Backtracking Problems & Pruning
  • 📅 Day 3: Branch & Bound Optimization
  • 📅 Day 4: Amortized Analysis Techniques
  • 🌟 Day 5 (Optional): Advanced Problem Solving

🟪 PHASE E: INTEGRATION & EXTENSIONS (Weeks 14–15)

💾 Week 14: Matrix Problems, Bitmasks & Number Theory

Topics: Matrix Traversal, Backtracking, Bitmask Tricks, Number Theory, Probability, Reservoir Sampling

  • 📅 Day 1: Matrix Traversal & Search Patterns
  • 📅 Day 2: Backtracking on Grids & Constraints
  • 📅 Day 3: Bitmask Tricks & State Compression
  • 📅 Day 4 (Optional): Number Theory & Modular Arithmetic
  • 🌟 Day 5 (Optional): Probability & Sampling

🔗 Week 15: Advanced Strings & Network Flow

Topics: KMP, Z-Algorithm, Suffix Arrays, Manacher, String Matching, Network Flow, Max-Flow Min-Cut

  • 📅 Day 1: KMP String Matching
  • 📅 Day 2: Z-Algorithm & Applications
  • 📅 Day 3 (Optional): Manacher's Algorithm
  • 📅 Day 4 (Optional): Suffix Arrays & Trees
  • 📅 Day 5: Network Flow Basics & Applications

🟫 PHASE F: ADVANCED DEEP DIVES (Weeks 16–18, Optional)

📊 Week 16: Advanced Data Structures

Topics: Segment Trees, Fenwick Tree (BIT), Geometry, Matrix Exponentiation, Convex Hull

  • 📅 Day 1: Segment Trees & Range Queries
  • 📅 Day 2: Lazy Propagation & Range Updates
  • 📅 Day 3: Fenwick Tree (Binary Indexed Tree)
  • 📅 Day 4: Matrix Exponentiation
  • 📅 Day 5: Computational Geometry Fundamentals

🎯 Week 17: Advanced Graphs, HLD & FFT

Topics: Heavy-Light Decomposition, Advanced String Algorithms, FFT, Polynomial Multiplication

  • 📅 Day 1: Heavy-Light Decomposition for Forests
  • 📅 Day 2: Advanced Graph Problems
  • 📅 Day 3: Aho-Corasick Algorithm (Conceptual)
  • 📅 Day 4: FFT & Polynomial Operations
  • 📅 Day 5: Advanced Optimization Techniques

📈 Week 18: Probabilistic DS & System Design

Topics: Bloom Filters, Count-Min Sketch, HyperLogLog, Min-Cost Flow, Circulation, Systems Integration

  • 📅 Day 1: Bloom Filters & Space-Efficient Sets
  • 📅 Day 2: Count-Min Sketch & Frequency Estimation
  • 📅 Day 3: HyperLogLog & Cardinality Estimation
  • 📅 Day 4: Min-Cost Flow & Circulation (Conceptual)
  • 📅 Day 5: Algorithmic Patterns in System Design

🔴 PHASE G: MOCK INTERVIEWS & FINAL MASTERY (Week 19)

🎮 Week 19: 5 Full Mock Interviews

Topics: Mixed Problem-Solving, Communication Skills, Meta-Skills, System Integration

  • 📅 Day 1: Mock Interview A – Arrays & Strings
  • 📅 Day 2: Mock Interview B – Trees & Graphs
  • 📅 Day 3: Mock Interview C – Dynamic Programming
  • 📅 Day 4: Mixed Problem Solving Session
  • 📅 Day 5: Final Assessment & Weakness Diagnosis

📊 How This Is Different from Alternatives

Aspect v13 Curriculum LeetCode YouTube Books Educative
Mental Models ✅ Deep first (narrative, diagrams) ❌ Problem list 🟡 Varies ✅ Strong 🟡 Some
Systems Grounding ✅ OS/DB/cache examples ❌ None 🟡 Some channels 🟡 Limited ❌ None
Structured Path ✅ 19-week arc ❌ Self-chosen ❌ Random videos ✅ Linear ✅ Linear
Interview Q&A ✅ 500+ prompts with follow-ups ✅ Many, but shallow ❌ Rare ❌ Rare 🟡 Some
Trade-off Analysis ✅ Every major topic (chapter 4) ❌ Minimal 🟡 Some ✅ Deep ❌ Minimal
Narrative Flow ✅ Lecture-style chapters ❌ Problem dump 🟡 Varies ✅ Good ✅ Mixed
Support Files ✅ 6–8 per week ❌ None ❌ None ❌ None 🟡 Few
Visual Playbook ✅ 30+ diagrams + tools ❌ None ✅ Some 🟡 Some ✅ Some
C# Support ✅ Production-grade ❌ None ❌ Rare ❌ Rare ❌ None
Real Systems ✅ 3–5 case studies/week ❌ None 🟡 Some 🟡 Limited ❌ None

🌐 20 External References & Resources

🎯 Practice Platforms

  1. LeetCode — Large problem bank, company tags
  2. NeetCode.io — Curated patterns, high-quality explanations
  3. AlgoExpert — Focused, high-quality interview problems
  4. Educative (Grokking Series) — Pattern-first practice with visuals

🎥 Video Learning

  1. Abdul Bari — Visual explanations for sorting, trees, graphs
  2. William Fiset — Graph theory and data structures deep dives
  3. Tushar Roy — Dynamic programming and recursion walkthroughs
  4. Tech Dose — Daily DSA problems and interview topics

📖 Books

  1. Introduction to Algorithms (CLRS) — Comprehensive theoretical reference
  2. Cracking the Coding Interview — Interview meta-strategy + problems
  3. Elements of Programming Interviews (EPI) — Implementation and edge cases
  4. Algorithm Design Manual (Skiena) — Design techniques and real-world stories

🎓 University Courses

  1. MIT 6.006 — RAM model, peak finding, sorting, hashing, DP
  2. Princeton Algorithms (Coursera) — Sorting, searching, graphs
  3. GeeksforGeeks — Broad quick-reference articles and examples

💻 Competitive Programming (Optional)

  1. Codeforces — Advanced competitive problems
  2. HackerRank — Company prep kits and warm-up problems
  3. AtCoder — Beginner-friendly to intermediate contests

🎨 Visualization Tools

  1. Visualgo.net — Interactive algorithm visualizations
  2. Algorithm Visualizer — Code + step-by-step animations

🏫 How to Study Effectively

📅 Daily Routine (Recommended)

🕐 Morning: 60–90 minutes (Understanding)

1. Read Instructional file — 1–2 sections (20–30 min)
2. Note down 3–5 key insights (5 min)
3. Draw diagrams / traces by hand (10–15 min)
4. Study Visual Playbook diagrams (10–15 min)
5. Explain one concept aloud (10 min)

🕐 Afternoon: 90–120 minutes (Practice)

1. Solve 2–3 problems from Roadmap (50–60 min)
2. Avoid solution peeking; struggle productively (20 min)
3. Trace your solution; check invariants (20 min)
4. Compare with optimal patterns; adjust mental model (10–20 min)

🕐 Evening: 20–30 minutes (Review)

1. Do 5 Interview_QA questions from the week (10–15 min)
2. Record one answer; listen critically (5–10 min)
3. Log confusion points for next day (5 min)

🕐 Weekend: 2–3 hours (Integration)

1. Solve 3–5 higher-difficulty problems (90 min)
2. Simulate one full mock interview (60 min)
3. Deep review of weak areas (30 min)

📈 Learning Outcomes by Phase

📊 After Phase A (Week 3 – Foundations)

  • ✅ Understand RAM model, memory layout, pointers
  • ✅ Classify algorithms by Big-O, with proofs via simple recurrences
  • ✅ Trace recursion and reason about space/time
  • ✅ Implement basic sorts, heaps, and hash tables

Mastery Level: Foundation Set ⚙️


📊 After Phase B (Week 6 – Core Patterns)

  • ✅ Solve 70–80% of array/string interview problems
  • ✅ Recognize two-pointer, window, hash, interval, stack patterns quickly
  • ✅ Solve most medium-level problems in 25–35 minutes

Mastery Level: Strong Base 📋


📊 After Phase C (Week 11 – Trees, Graphs & DP)

  • ✅ Solve 80–88% of common interview problems
  • ✅ Design tree and graph solutions including shortest paths
  • ✅ Implement BFS, DFS, Dijkstra, Bellman–Ford, MST
  • ✅ Recognize and implement core DP families

Mastery Level: Competent 🌳


📊 After Phase D (Week 13 – Paradigms)

  • ✅ Understand and explain greedy correctness (via exchange arguments)
  • ✅ Make informed choices between greedy and DP
  • ✅ Perform formal amortized analysis for key data structures

Mastery Level: Proficient ⚙️


📊 After Phase E (Week 15 – Integration & Extensions)

  • ✅ Solve 90–95% of interview problems
  • ✅ Integrate multiple patterns in a single solution (e.g., DP + intervals + stack)
  • ✅ Communicate complex solutions and trade-offs clearly

Mastery Level: Advanced 🔄


📊 After Phase F (Week 18 – Deep Dives, Optional)

  • ✅ Understand advanced data structures and algorithms
  • ✅ Discuss flows, geometry, advanced graphs, probabilistic DS
  • ✅ Connect algorithms to modern large-scale systems

Mastery Level: Elite 🚀


📊 After Phase G (Week 19 – Mock Interviews)

  • ✅ Confidently handle novel interview problems
  • ✅ Pass typical FAANG technical screens
  • ✅ Present solutions like a senior engineer

Mastery Level: Interview Ready 🎤


🚀 Getting Started: Quick Start

Step 1: 🎯 Choose Your Path (5 min)

Complete Mastery?  → Sequential, Week 1–19, 16–20 weeks
Interview Prep?    → Intensive, Week 4+, 6–8 weeks
Quick Refresh?     → Topic-based, 2–4 weeks

Step 2: 📖 Read Orientation Files (15 min)

1. README_v13.md                        — overview & map
2. START_HERE.md                        — path selection
3. COMPLETE_SYLLABUS_v13.md             — fine-grained syllabus

Step 3: 📚 Start Your First Week

1. Open Week01_Guidelines.md            — weekly strategy
2. Study Week01Day01_...Instructional   — narrative learning
3. Follow Week01_Daily_Progress_Checklist.md
4. Use Roadmap + Interview_QA for practice & review

📂 Repository Structure (v13.0)

dsa-master-curriculum-v13/

📄 README_v13.md                   # Main entrypoint (this file)
📄 START_HERE.md                   # Path selection & orientation
📄 LICENSE

📁 v13-syllabus/
   ├── COMPLETE_SYLLABUS_v13.md
   ├── COMPLETE_SYLLABUS_v13_DETAILED.md
   ├── COMPLETE_CONTENT_INDEX.md
   └── Supporting materials

📁 v13-system-prompts/
   ├── MASTER_PROMPT_v13.md
   ├── SYSTEM_CONFIG_v13_FINAL.md
   ├── SYSTEM_PROMPT_v13_FOR_AI_CHAT.md
   ├── SYSTEM_PROMPT_v13_EXTENDED_SUPPORT_CSHARP.md
   └── Additional support files

📁 v13-templates/
   ├── Template_v13_Narrative_FINAL.md
   ├── EMOJI_ICON_GUIDE_v13.md
   ├── VISUAL_PLAYBOOK_GENERATION_PROMPT_v13.md
   └── Supporting templates

📁 week01-foundations-i-computational-fundamentals/
   ├── Week01Day01_..._Instructional.md
   ├── Week01Day02_..._Instructional.md
   ├── Week01Day03_..._Instructional.md
   ├── Week01Day04_..._Instructional.md
   ├── Week01Day05_..._Instructional.md
   ├── Week01Day06_PeakFinding_Instructional.md
   ├── Week01_Guidelines.md
   ├── Week01_Summary_KeyConcepts.md
   ├── Week01_Interview_QA_Reference.md
   ├── Week01_Problem_Solving_Roadmap.md
   ├── Week01_Daily_Progress_Checklist.md
   ├── Week01_VisualConceptsPlaybook_HYBRID.md
   └── Week01_ProblemSolving_Roadmap_Extended_CSharp.md

📁 week02-foundations-ii-linear-data-structures/
📁 week03-foundations-iii-sorting-and-hashing/
📁 week04-core-patterns-i/
📁 week05-tier1-critical-patterns/
📁 week06-string-patterns/
📁 week07-trees-and-balanced-bsts/
📁 week08-graph-fundamentals/
📁 week09-graph-algorithms-i/
📁 week10-dp-i-fundamentals/
📁 week11-dp-ii-advanced/
📁 week12-greedy-and-paradigms/
📁 week13-backtracking-and-advanced-graphs/
📁 week14-matrix-backtracking-bits/
📁 week15-advanced-strings-flow/
📁 week16-advanced-data-structures/
📁 week17-advanced-graphs-hld-fft/
📁 week18-probabilistic-ds-systems/
📁 week19-mock-interviews-mastery/

📁 assets/
   ├── diagrams/
   ├── flowcharts/
   ├── traces/
   └── tables/

🎓 Quality Guarantee / Standards

  • Narrative-First: Every instructional file reads like a lecture, not a checklist
  • Pattern-Centric: Focus on ideas that generalize across many problems
  • Production-Grade C#: No spaghetti code, thoughtful data-structure choices
  • Systems-Grounded: Frequent links to real systems and engineering trade-offs
  • MIT-Level Rigor: Explicit coverage of core 6.006/6.046 topics
  • Visual Support: At least 30 diagrams per week via Visual Playbook
  • Interview-Ready: Hundreds of Q&A prompts with realistic follow-ups

🤝 Contributing, FAQ, License & Footer

🤝 Contributing

For now, this curriculum is primarily a learning artifact. If you spot errors, ambiguities, or have suggestions:

  • Open an issue in your repo
  • Propose a fix via PR with a clear explanation

❓ FAQ

Q: Is this only for C# developers?
A: No. Concepts are language-agnostic. C# support is a bonus layer.

Q: Can I skip the optional deep-dive weeks (16–18)?
A: Yes. They are recommended for elite prep and competitive programming, not mandatory for normal interviews.

Q: How many problems should I solve per week?
A: Typical range: 20–40, depending on time and difficulty.

📝 License

📜 MIT License — You may use, modify, and teach from this material. Attribution is appreciated but not required.


About

This repository contains the complete specification, prompts, and generation system for the DSA Master Curriculum v12.1, a 19-week, narrative-first, institutional-grade Data Structures & Algorithms program that builds mental models, system-level intuition, and pattern-based interview mastery.

Topics

Resources

Stars

Watchers

Forks