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mlmentorship

Book X

Coding interview practice

A visual-first coding field guide for data structures, algorithms, and practical AI coding. Learn each problem by seeing the state it preserves, the move it makes, and the invariant that makes the move safe.

11 chapters · 107 entries

Chapters

11
X.1

Learn by rebuilding

Use cues, state, invariants, and spaced rebuilding to turn unfamiliar prompts into recognizable mental models.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Foundation
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.2

Remember the past

Use maps, sets, and saved boundary values to turn repeated searching into one pass.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Foundation
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.3

Move boundaries

Use sorted order, windows, and answer-space search to discard impossible regions safely.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Foundation
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.4

Keep unfinished work

Use stacks and monotonic state when the newest unresolved item must be handled first.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Foundation
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.5

Process the next best item

Let queues, heaps, and shortest-path frontiers decide which reachable item comes next.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Intermediate
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.6

Explore choices

Traverse graphs, trees, choice paths, and smaller dynamic-programming states without losing the invariant.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Intermediate
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.7

Create a useful order

Sort ranges, commit safe greedy choices, remove prerequisites, and join connected groups.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Intermediate
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.9

Complete core coverage

Reuse the main patterns across bits, strings, matrices, trees, graphs, intervals, and caches.

Scope
Core
Difficulty
Mixed
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.10

Practical AI coding

Make array shapes, masks, numerical stability, batching, selection, and metrics visible before coding.

Scope
Role-specific
Difficulty
Intermediate
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS
X.11

Hard problems

Combine boundaries, stacks, trees, grids, tries, heaps, and answer search after the core patterns feel natural.

Scope
Specialist
Difficulty
Advanced
Useful for
MLE, RE, AS