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100_Python_DSA_Tricks_CheatSheet

This document is a cheat sheet containing 100 Python tricks for data structures and algorithms (DSA). It covers various topics including Pythonic loops and conditions, data structure shortcuts, math and number tricks, recursion and dynamic programming, string and array manipulations, algorithm design techniques, and debugging tips. The tricks are designed to enhance coding efficiency and improve problem-solving skills in Python.

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rupesh unqtone
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9 views

100_Python_DSA_Tricks_CheatSheet

This document is a cheat sheet containing 100 Python tricks for data structures and algorithms (DSA). It covers various topics including Pythonic loops and conditions, data structure shortcuts, math and number tricks, recursion and dynamic programming, string and array manipulations, algorithm design techniques, and debugging tips. The tricks are designed to enhance coding efficiency and improve problem-solving skills in Python.

Uploaded by

rupesh unqtone
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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100 Python Tricks for DSA (Cheat Sheet)

Pythonic Loops & Conditions

- Use for x in arr instead of for i in range(len(arr)) if index not needed

- Use enumerate(arr) for (index, value) pairs

- Use zip(a, b) to iterate over two lists together

- List comprehensions for clean loops: [x*x for x in arr]

- Use if x instead of if x == True

- Use all() and any() for conditions over iterables

- Chained comparisons: if 1 < x <= 10

- Ternary operator: a if cond else b

- while loops for unknown iterations

- for-else for checking if break was used

- Use reversed(arr) for large list reverse

- Use sorted(arr) to preserve original list

- Use set to remove duplicates: list(set(arr))

- Use is for identity, == for equality

- Avoid modifying list while iterating

Data Structures Shortcuts

- collections.Counter for frequency maps

- collections.deque for fast pops from both ends

- Use set for fast membership test

- defaultdict(int) for auto-zero values

- heapq for priority queues

- heapq.nlargest(k, arr) for top-k elements

- dict.items() for key-value loop

- bisect for binary search on sorted list

- arr.count(x) for frequency (small arrays)

- max(arr, key=func) and min(arr, key=func)

- math.gcd(a, b) for GCD

- collections.OrderedDict to maintain order

- Tuple as dict key for multidimensional problems


- Use in with set/dict for fast lookup

- dict.pop(key, None) to safely delete key

Math & Number Tricks

- divmod(a, b) returns (quotient, remainder)

- pow(x, y, mod) for modular exponentiation

- math.isqrt(n) for integer sqrt

- math.factorial(n) for factorial

- math.log2(x) for base-2 log

- round(num, digits) to round decimals

- bin(n).count('1') to count set bits

- x & (x - 1) == 0 checks power of 2

- x ^ y for bit toggling

- x & 1 for odd/even

- itertools.permutations(arr) for permutations

- itertools.combinations(arr, r) for combos

- itertools.product(a, b) for Cartesian product

- itertools.accumulate(arr) for prefix sums

- math.comb(n, r) for nCr

Recursion & DP

- @lru_cache(maxsize=None) for memoization

- Always define base cases in recursion

- Avoid mutable default args in recursion

- Use tuple in memo keys instead of list

- Convert top-down to bottom-up if recursion is deep

- Use 2D/3D lists for DP

- [[-1]*cols for _ in range(rows)] for DP init

- Use directions = [(0,1),(1,0),(0,-1),(-1,0)] for grid problems

- float('inf') as initial value

- Rolling array for 1D DP space optimization

- Maintain parent pointers for path

- Dict for sparse DP state storage

- Convert recursive to iterative when needed

- Tabulate overlapping subproblems


- Trace DP state transitions clearly

Strings & Arrays

- arr[::-1] for reverse

- ' '.join(arr) to join strings

- s.split() to split string

- s.strip() to remove spaces

- s.startswith(), s.endswith() for prefix/suffix

- s.find(sub), s.index(sub) for substring

- s.count(char) for char frequency

- collections.Counter(s) for string frequency

- ord(char), chr(code) for ASCII

- Sliding window for substrings

- Prefix sums for range queries

- Hashmap for subarray sum problems

- Sort + two-pointer for pair sum

- set comparison for anagram check

- ''.join(reversed(s)) for reversed string

Algorithm Design Tricks

- Binary search on sorted + predicate

- BFS for shortest path (unweighted graph)

- DFS for traversal and cycle detection

- Union-Find for connected components

- Topological Sort for dependency graphs

- Bitmasking for subset state DP

- Sliding Window for fixed-size subarrays

- Two Pointer for sorted array operations

- Monotonic Stack for nearest greater/smaller

- Trie for prefix string problems

Debugging & Efficiency

- print(*arr) to pretty print

- breakpoint() or pdb.set_trace() for debug

- Use time.time() or timeit to measure time

- Avoid pop(0) on list - use deque instead


- Use try-except wisely

- Avoid global vars in functions

- Avoid unnecessary sorting

- Always check constraints first

- Use PyPy if allowed for speed

- Think in terms of complexity (time/space)

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