Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Week 5 of my competitive programming journey. Today, I focused on Two-Pointer Problems, and let me tell you, it felt like piecing together a mystery where the clues are hidden in plain sight. Two-pointer problems require precision, patience, and a balanced mix of strategy and simplicity, which made today’s challenges both rewarding and engaging.
How the Day Unfolded
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3Sum (Medium Difficulty)
- Task: Find all unique triplets in an array that sum to zero.
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The Strategy:
- First, sort the array to bring order to the chaos.
- Then, fix one number and use two pointers to find pairs that complete the sum.
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The Fun Part:
- Managing duplicates was tricky but satisfying. It felt like ensuring no two detectives followed the same lead twice.
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Container with Most Water (Medium Difficulty)
- Task: Find two lines in an array that form a container with the maximum amount of water.
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The Strategy:
- Started with two pointers at the ends of the array.
- Moved the pointer corresponding to the smaller height inward to maximize the area.
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The Fun Part:
- Watching how a simple rule (the smaller height limits the area) could lead to such an efficient and elegant solution.
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Remove Duplicates from Sorted Array (Easy Difficulty)
- Task: Remove duplicates in a sorted array in-place, keeping the order intact.
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The Strategy:
- Used two pointers: one to iterate through the array and another to track the position of unique elements.
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The Fun Part:
- Organizing the array efficiently felt like decluttering a messy closet—it was oddly therapeutic to watch chaos turn into order.
What Made Today Special
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Visualizing the Solutions:
- Two-pointer problems are highly visual—you can almost picture the pointers moving through the array like players in a game. This made solving them engaging and intuitive.
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The Joy of Optimization:
- Watching a brute-force approach evolve into a sleek, optimized solution was deeply satisfying. It’s amazing when everything clicks into place during the process.
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Handling Duplicates Effectively:
- From avoiding duplicate triplets in 3Sum to removing redundant elements in a sorted array, managing repetition was a key theme that kept me sharp.
Key Takeaways
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Two-Pointer Technique is a Game-Changer:
- Whether scanning for pairs or maximizing areas, the two-pointer method simplifies problems that initially feel complex or overwhelming.
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Methodical Thinking Wins:
- These problems reward a step-by-step approach. Sorting or initializing pointers correctly at the start sets the tone for an efficient solution.
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Embrace the Journey:
- Solving two-pointer problems feels like navigating a maze—you might hit dead ends, but each wrong turn teaches you something valuable for the next try.
A Quick Reflection
Today reinforced why I love competitive programming. It’s not just about writing code; it’s about enjoying the process of problem-solving, the excitement of discovery, and the satisfaction of building optimized solutions.
What’s Next?
Tomorrow, I’ll dive into Backtracking Problems, tackling challenges like Combination Sum, Permutations, and Word Search. These will test my creativity and problem exploration skills, and I can’t wait to take them on!
Thanks for joining me on this adventure. Let’s keep learning, solving, and growing together!
Best regards,
Somuya
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