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A reading surface for the DSA study packet

The DSA Woodshed

Woodshedding for the whiteboard

A calm reading surface for the DSA study packet: the evidence behind a good practice block, and copy-ready algorithm reference sheets. Every page is tracked in git and links back to its source so you can propose an edit.

Interview practice evidence

Why the daily loop is built from cold retrieval, think-aloud reps, observation stress, tape review, and short targeted refreshers — not passive video.

Reference sheets

Copy-ready templates and the recurring shapes of interview problems, rendered from the study packet reference sheets.

Reference sheets

  • Python Standard Library

    collections, itertools, functools, bisect, and heapq — the built-ins to reach for first, with the calls that matter.

  • Data Structures

    Operations and Big-O for every Python built-in type, plus trees, graphs, and heaps.

  • Algorithm Templates

    Copy-ready templates for binary search, two pointers, sliding window, BFS/DFS, backtracking, and DP.

  • Big-O Complexity

    Time complexities ranked, input-size rules of thumb, and amortized analysis.

  • Common Patterns

    The recurring shapes of interview problems and the move that solves each one.

  • System Design

    Load balancing, caching, message queues, database scaling, and API design.

  • Interview Day Guide

    Day-of logistics, a communication framework, timing strategy, and what to keep open.

  • Cross-Reference Guide

    Master lookup: problem description to implementation, a decision tree, and a keyword cheat sheet.

  • Python 3.14 & Modern Patterns

    PEP 750 t-strings, PEP 649 lazy annotations, PEP 695 type syntax, Hypothesis, and advanced typing.

  • Whiteboard Performance & Panic Protocol

    What's actually scored, the CLARP loop, panic first-aid, and collaboration scripts.

  • 14-Day Whiteboard Ramp

    A day-by-day schedule: which drills to run and which sheets to keep open.

The prose and reference sheets are authored in the DSA study packet repository and rendered here as a static site.

A reading surface for the DSA study packet. Content is tracked in git; every page links to its source.