🐍 Python Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA) — Simple Guide

Python Data Structures and Algorithms are the building blocks for solving coding challenges.
Mastering them helps you solve problems efficiently and correctly.
🔹 PART 1: Common Python Data Structures
1. List ([])

Ordered, mutable, allows duplicates

Think of it like a row of items (e.g., [1, 2, 3])

✅ Use for:

Storing a sequence

Accessing by index

Modifying elements

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
numbers.append(4) # [1, 2, 3, 4]

2. Tuple (())

Ordered, immutable, allows duplicates

✅ Use for:

Fixed data (e.g., coordinates)

point = (3, 4)

3. Set (set())

Unordered, unique values, no duplicates

✅ Use for:

Removing duplicates

Set operations (union, intersection)

s = set([1, 2, 2, 3]) # {1, 2, 3}

4. Dictionary ({key: value})

Key-value pairs, fast lookup

✅ Use for:

Mapping data (like a phone book)

phone = {'John': '123', 'Jane': '456'}

print(phone['Jane']) # '456'

5. String ("")
 Like a list of characters (immutable)

✅ Use for:

Text manipulation

s = "hello"
print(s[::-1]) # 'olleh'

🔹 PART 2: Common Algorithms

1. Sorting

Organizing data

nums = [5, 2, 9]
nums.sort() # [2, 5, 9]

2. Searching

Finding elements

if 3 in nums:
print("Found!")

3. Two Pointers

Use two indices to solve array problems

def has_pair_with_sum(arr, target):

left, right = 0, len(arr)-1
arr.sort()
while left < right:
s = arr[left] + arr[right]
if s == target:
return True
elif s < target:
left += 1
else:
right -= 1
return False

4. Sliding Window

Efficient for subarray problems

def max_sum(arr, k):

window_sum = sum(arr[:k])
max_sum = window_sum
for i in range(k, len(arr)):
window_sum += arr[i] - arr[i-k]
max_sum = max(max_sum, window_sum)
return max_sum

5. Hashing

Use dictionaries or sets to solve problems faster

def has_duplicate(nums):
seen = set()
for n in nums:
if n in seen:
return True
seen.add(n)
return False

6. Recursion

Function that calls itself

def factorial(n):
if n == 1:
return 1
return n * factorial(n-1)

7. Dynamic Programming

Break problems into sub-problems and cache results

def fib(n, memo={}):

if n in memo: return memo[n]
if n <= 2: return 1
memo[n] = fib(n-1, memo) + fib(n-2, memo)
return memo[n]

🔹 PART 3: Python Challenge Types and Strategies

Challenge Type Common Structures/Algorithms Strategy
✅ Arrays/Lists List, Set, Two Pointers, Sliding Window Looping, sorting, hashsets
✅ Strings String, Dict, Two Pointers Reverse, compare, count
✅ Hashing Dict, Set Store and lookup values
✅ Math/Number Loop, Conditions Modulo, division, primes
✅ Recursion/DP Recursion, Memoization Break into smaller problems
✅ Sorting/Searching List, Sort, Binary Search Efficient lookups
✅ Graphs/Trees Dict, Set, Recursion DFS, BFS
✅ Linked Lists Pointers, Classes Traverse and modify
✅ Stacks/Queues List, Deque LIFO / FIFO problems
✅ Example Problem + Solution Strategy

Problem: Return True if a list contains duplicates.

🔧 Use: Set + Loop

def contains_duplicate(nums):
seen = set()
for num in nums:
if num in seen:
return True
seen.add(num)
return False

🔚 Final Tips for Solving Python Challenges

Understand the Problem — Write in your own words

Choose the Right Structure — Based on data and actions

 Think of Edge Cases — Empty input, large size, etc.

Write & Test Code — Small examples

Optimize — Use time/space complexity knowledge

Would you like a printable cheat sheet or want to practice with Python challenge examples by type?
You said:
yes
ChatGPT said:

Great! Here's what I’ll give you in this response:

✅ A Printable Cheat Sheet (DSA summary)

✅ A list of Python Practice Challenges by type with examples and brief hints

✅ Option to generate PDF or Markdown version if you want it for offline use

🧠 1. PYTHON DSA CHEAT SHEET (Simple & Printable)

================= PYTHON DSA CHEAT SHEET =================

DATA STRUCTURES:
----------------
1. List [] - Ordered, Mutable, Duplicates allowed
2. Tuple () - Ordered, Immutable, Duplicates allowed
3. Set set() - Unordered, Unique, No duplicates
4. Dict {} - Key-value pairs, Fast lookup
5. String "" - Sequence of characters (immutable)

ALGORITHMS:
-----------
1. Sorting - list.sort(), sorted()
2. Searching - Linear, Binary Search
3. Two Pointers - Use two indices for efficient traversal
4. Sliding Window - Efficient fixed-size subarray logic
5. Hashing - Use dict/set to store seen values
6. Recursion - Function calls itself
7. Dynamic Programming - Store previous results to optimize

TIME COMPLEXITY HINTS:

-----------------------
- Loop: O(n)
- Nested loop: O(n^2)
- Sort: O(n log n)
- Dict/Set lookup: O(1)
- Recursion (no memo): exponential

🧩 2. PYTHON CHALLENGES BY TYPE (With Hints)

Challenge Type Example ProblemHint / Structure
✅ List/Array "Find max in list" Use max(), loop, or sort
✅ String "Is string a palindrome?" Use slicing: s == s[::-1]
✅ Hashing "Detect duplicate in list" Use set() or dict()
✅ Two Pointers "Two sum in sorted list" One pointer from start, one from end
✅ Sliding Window "Max sum of k-length subarray" Keep window sum, slide it
✅ Sorting "Sort list of tuples by 2nd item" Use sorted(data, key=lambda x: x[1])
✅ Recursion "Factorial or Fibonacci" Base case + function calling itself
✅ Dynamic Programming "Climbing stairs with 1 or 2 steps" DP with memo or bottom-up list
✅ Graph/BFS/DFS "Find connected components" Use dict for graph + visited set
✅ Linked List "Reverse a linked list" Track prev/current/next node
✅ Stack "Valid parentheses" Use list as a stack: .append()/.pop()
✅ Queue "First unique character" Use collections.deque()
✅ Binary Search "Find element in sorted array" Use while low <= high: logic
✅ Math "Is number a power of 2?" Check using bit manipulation
🎯 3. SAMPLE PRACTICE QUESTIONS (With Answers on Request)

Here are 5 beginner-friendly ones to start with:

1. Reverse a string

# Input: "hello"
# Output: "olleh"

2. Find the maximum number in a list

# Input: [1, 7, 3, 9, 2]
# Output: 9

3. Check if two strings are anagrams

# Input: "listen", "silent"

# Output: True
# Hint: Use `sorted()`

4. Find duplicates in a list

# Input: [1, 2, 3, 2, 4]
# Output: True

5. Return the first non-repeating character

# Input: "swiss"
# Output: "w"
# Hint: Use dict to count, then loop through string

📦 Want This as a PDF or Markdown?

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📝 PDF version (Printable)

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💻 Notebook version (With code cells to practice)

Let me know your preferred format and I’ll generate it!

You said:
example code for
2. PYTHON CHALLENGES BY TYPE (With Hints)
ChatGPT said:

Perfect! Here's example code for each item listed in “2. Python Challenges by Type (With Hints)” —
organized and explained clearly.
✅ 1. List/Array – Find Max in List

def find_max(nums):
max_val = nums[0]
for num in nums:
if num > max_val:
max_val = num
return max_val

print(find_max([1, 7, 3, 9, 2])) # Output: 9

✅ 2. String – Is String a Palindrome?

def is_palindrome(s):
return s == s[::-1]

print(is_palindrome("racecar")) # Output: True

✅ 3. Hashing – Detect Duplicates in List

def has_duplicate(nums):
seen = set()
for n in nums:
if n in seen:
return True
seen.add(n)
return False

print(has_duplicate([1, 2, 3, 4, 2])) # Output: True

✅ 4. Two Pointers – Two Sum in Sorted List

def two_sum_sorted(nums, target):

left, right = 0, len(nums) - 1
while left < right:
s = nums[left] + nums[right]
if s == target:
return [left, right]
elif s < target:
left += 1
else:
right -= 1
return []

print(two_sum_sorted([1, 2, 4, 6, 10], 8)) # Output: [1, 3]

✅ 5. Sliding Window – Max Sum of k-Length Subarray

def max_subarray_sum(nums, k):

window_sum = sum(nums[:k])
max_sum = window_sum
for i in range(k, len(nums)):
window_sum += nums[i] - nums[i - k]
max_sum = max(max_sum, window_sum)
return max_sum

print(max_subarray_sum([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], 3)) # Output: 15

✅ 6. Sorting – Sort Tuples by Second Item

data = [(1, 'b'), (3, 'a'), (2, 'c')]

sorted_data = sorted(data, key=lambda x: x[1])
print(sorted_data) # Output: [(3, 'a'), (1, 'b'), (2, 'c')]

✅ 7. Recursion – Factorial

def factorial(n):
if n == 0 or n == 1:
return 1
return n * factorial(n - 1)

print(factorial(5)) # Output: 120

✅ 8. Dynamic Programming – Climbing Stairs

def climb_stairs(n):
if n <= 2:
return n
dp = [0] * (n + 1)
dp[1], dp[2] = 1, 2
for i in range(3, n + 1):
dp[i] = dp[i - 1] + dp[i - 2]
return dp[n]

print(climb_stairs(5)) # Output: 8

✅ 9. Graph/BFS – Number of Connected Components

from collections import defaultdict, deque

def count_components(n, edges):

graph = defaultdict(list)
for u, v in edges:
graph[u].append(v)
graph[v].append(u)

visited = set()

def bfs(node):
queue = deque([node])
while queue:
curr = queue.popleft()
for neighbor in graph[curr]:
if neighbor not in visited:
visited.add(neighbor)
queue.append(neighbor)

count = 0
for i in range(n):
if i not in visited:
visited.add(i)
bfs(i)
count += 1
return count
print(count_components(5, [[0,1],[1,2],[3,4]])) # Output: 2

✅ 10. Linked List – Reverse a Linked List

class Node:
def __init__(self, val):
self.val = val
self.next = None

def reverse_list(head):
prev = None
curr = head
while curr:
next_node = curr.next
curr.next = prev
prev = curr
curr = next_node
return prev

✅ 11. Stack – Valid Parentheses

def is_valid(s):
stack = []
mapping = {')': '(', ']': '[', '}': '{'}
for char in s:
if char in mapping:
top = stack.pop() if stack else '#'
if mapping[char] != top:
return False
else:
stack.append(char)
return not stack

print(is_valid("({[]})")) # Output: True

✅ 12. Queue – First Unique Character

from collections import Counter

def first_unique(s):
count = Counter(s)
for ch in s:
if count[ch] == 1:
return ch
return None

print(first_unique("swiss")) # Output: "w"

✅ 13. Binary Search – Search in Sorted Array

def binary_search(nums, target):

left, right = 0, len(nums)-1
while left <= right:
mid = (left + right) // 2
if nums[mid] == target:
return mid
 elif nums[mid] < target:
left = mid + 1
else:
right = mid - 1
return -1

print(binary_search([1, 3, 5, 7, 9], 7)) # Output: 3

✅ 14. Math – Is Power of 2

def is_power_of_two(n):
return n > 0 and (n & (n - 1)) == 0

print(is_power_of_two(8)) # Output: True