1.
Introduction to DSA in Python
What is Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA)?
Importance of DSA in problem-solving, competitive
programming, and system design
How Python is useful for DSA (built-in libraries like collections,
heapq, bisect)
Overview of Python syntax relevant to DSA:
o Variables and Data Types
o Functions and Recursion
o Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Concepts
o Exception Handling
2. Complexity Analysis
2.1 Time Complexity
Asymptotic notation:
o Big O (O) - Worst-case complexity
o Big Theta (Θ) - Average-case complexity
o Big Omega (Ω) - Best-case complexity
Common complexities and their meanings:
o O(1) - Constant Time
o O(log N) - Logarithmic Time
o O(N) - Linear Time
o O(N log N) - Linearithmic Time
o O(N²), O(2ⁿ), O(N!) - Quadratic, Exponential, and
Factorial Time
How to analyze the time complexity of an algorithm
2.2 Space Complexity
Definition and importance
Memory usage by variables, lists, and recursion
Trade-offs between time and space complexity
3. Data Structures in Python
3.1 Linear Data Structures
3.1.1 Arrays
Definition: A collection of elements stored in contiguous
memory locations
Operations:
o Accessing elements (Indexing)
o Insertion and Deletion
o Searching (Linear and Binary Search)
o Slicing in Python
Multi-dimensional arrays (2D arrays, matrices)
Python’s List vs NumPy Arrays
Dynamic Arrays (using array module)
3.1.2 Linked Lists
Types:
o Singly Linked List
o Doubly Linked List
o Circular Linked List
Operations:
o Traversal
o Insertion (at beginning, end, specific index)
o Deletion (head, tail, specific node)
o Reversal of Linked List
Implementation using Python classes and objects
3.1.3 Stacks
Definition: Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) data structure
Operations: Push, Pop, Peek, isEmpty()
Implementation:
o Using Lists
o Using collections.deque
o Using Linked List
Applications:
o Undo/Redo functionality
o Expression evaluation (postfix, prefix, infix)
o Balanced Parentheses Check (using Stack)
3.1.4 Queues
Definition: First-In-First-Out (FIFO) data structure
Types of Queues:
o Normal Queue
o Circular Queue
o Priority Queue
o Double-Ended Queue (Deque)
Operations: Enqueue, Dequeue, Front, Rear
Implementation:
o Using Lists
o Using collections.deque
o Using queue.Queue
Applications:
o CPU Scheduling
o BFS (Breadth-First Search)
3.2 Non-Linear Data Structures
3.2.1 Trees
Definition: Hierarchical data structure
Types of Trees:
o Binary Tree
o Binary Search Tree (BST)
o AVL Tree (Self-Balancing BST)
o Heap (Min Heap, Max Heap)
o Trie (Prefix Tree)
o Segment Tree, Fenwick Tree (Binary Indexed Tree)
Operations on Trees:
o Insertion
o Deletion
o Traversals (Inorder, Preorder, Postorder, Level Order)
3.2.2 Graphs
Representation of Graphs:
o Adjacency Matrix
o Adjacency List
Types of Graphs:
o Directed vs Undirected
o Weighted vs Unweighted
Graph Traversal Algorithms:
o BFS (Breadth-First Search)
o DFS (Depth-First Search)
Shortest Path Algorithms:
o Dijkstra’s Algorithm
o Bellman-Ford Algorithm
Minimum Spanning Tree:
o Kruskal’s Algorithm
o Prim’s Algorithm
Topological Sorting (Kahn’s Algorithm, DFS-based method)
4. Searching Algorithms
Linear Search
Binary Search (Iterative and Recursive)
Jump Search
Interpolation Search
Exponential Search
5. Sorting Algorithms
Bubble Sort
Selection Sort
Insertion Sort
Merge Sort
Quick Sort
Heap Sort
Counting Sort
Radix Sort
Bucket Sort
6. Hashing and Hash Tables
Hash Functions
Collision Handling:
o Chaining (Linked List)
o Open Addressing (Linear Probing, Quadratic Probing,
Double Hashing)
Python’s Dictionary and Set as Hash Tables
7. Recursion and Backtracking
Concept of Recursion
Tail Recursion vs Normal Recursion
Problems Solved Using Recursion:
o Factorial, Fibonacci
o Tower of Hanoi
o N-Queens Problem
o Sudoku Solver
o Rat in a Maze
8. Dynamic Programming (DP)
Introduction to DP
Difference between Memoization and Tabulation
Common DP Problems:
o Fibonacci using DP
o 0/1 Knapsack Problem
o Longest Common Subsequence (LCS)
o Matrix Chain Multiplication
o Subset Sum Problem
9. Greedy Algorithms
Introduction to Greedy Method
Activity Selection Problem
Huffman Coding
Kruskal’s Algorithm
Prim’s Algorithm
10. Advanced DSA Topics
Disjoint Set (Union-Find Algorithm)
Bit Manipulation Tricks
KMP Algorithm (Pattern Matching)
Trie Data Structure (AutoComplete, Dictionary
Implementations)
Segment Trees for Range Queries
Fenwick Tree (Binary Indexed Tree) for Prefix Sum
11. Competitive Programming & Problem-Solving
Problem-solving strategies
Code optimization techniques
Best practices for writing efficient Python code
Python libraries for DSA:
o heapq for Heaps
o collections for Deques and Counters
o bisect for Binary Search
o itertools for Combinations and Permutations
12. String Algorithms
Pattern Matching
o Knuth-Morris-Pratt (KMP) Algorithm
o Rabin-Karp Algorithm
o Z Algorithm
Longest Palindromic Substring (Manacher’s Algorithm)
Suffix Array & Suffix Tree
Trie Data Structure (for Dictionary, Auto-Suggestions)
