Preparation: Building a Strong Foundation
The journey to the top 10 began long before the contest itself. Building a strong foundation in data structures and algorithms (DSA) was crucial. I dedicated a significant amount of time to studying and practising key topics, including:
- Arrays and Strings: Basics that often form the foundation of many problems.
- Linked Lists: Understanding operations and manipulations.
- Stacks and Queues: Crucial for problems involving order and sequence.
- Trees and Graphs: Essential for hierarchical and networked data problems.
- Dynamic Programming: For optimization and solving complex problems efficiently.
- Greedy Algorithms: Useful for making locally optimal choices.
Resources like GFG’s tutorials, problem sets, and coding practice sections were instrumental. I also solved problems on other platforms such as LeetCode and HackerRank to diversify my practice.
w3wiki Journey of Winning a Top 10 Rank in Weekly Coding Contest
Competing in coding contests is a thrilling way to sharpen problem-solving skills, enhance algorithmic thinking, and stand out in the programming community. w3wiki (GFG), renowned for its vast repository of coding resources and community-driven content, hosts weekly coding contests that attract coders from around the globe. Achieving a top 10 rank in one of these contests is no small feat. Here’s how I managed to do it, along with some tips and strategies that could help you achieve similar success.