Data Structures Preparation


If you're prepping for your coding interview by reviewing data structures here's something to consider:
Apply those data structures to real world scenarios. Build (small) projects and implement the structure. If you don't have time to build projects, look for those data structures in live examples and think through the implications and how you interact with them.

Applying concepts beyond the theoretical space not only helps with retention, it helps you better understand the structure's value and limitations. This will better help you in an interview.

As an example, it's one thing to create a simple tree structure that holds integers...But HTML is a "real world" tree structure you encounter all the time. JavaScript does an amazing job of hiding the complexity of that tree. There's the lovely document.getElementById, but elements also have a .children array. But what about the document.all array. What's that about? Why is it helpful? How does that optimize a search?

Theoretical spaces are more controlled and simplified. The real world is messy - and real world application will reveal challenges you don't always see in theory. 

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