feat(islands): add StudyDeck component and markdown decks for algorithms

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Prad Nukala
2026-08-19 13:05:50 -04:00
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commit 6f4686d7e9
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## Arrays & Strings
Ordered collections. Arrays are **mutable**, strings are **immutable** — every "edit" to a string builds a new one.
---
## Cost model
| Operation | Array | String |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Append / pop at end | O(1)* | O(n) |
| Insert / delete in middle | O(n) | O(n) |
| Random access | O(1) | O(1) |
| Membership check | O(n) | O(n) |
*amortized — occasional resize, constant on average.
---
## Recognition
- Contiguous data + index arithmetic → array patterns apply
- Building a string piece by piece → collect parts, join once
- "In-place" requirement → think swap / overwrite, not rebuild
---
## String building
```js
// O(n^2): each += copies the whole string
let s = "";
for (const ch of parts) s += ch;
// O(n): buffer then join
const buf = [];
for (const ch of parts) buf.push(ch);
const out = buf.join("");
```
---
## Recall
- Why is append amortized O(1) and not plain O(1)?
- What does immutability cost when you "modify" one character?
- Which patterns sit on top of arrays? (two pointers, sliding window, prefix sum)
---
## Drill
- 1480 Running Sum of 1d Array
- 217 Contains Duplicate
- 189 Rotate Array
- 977 Squares of a Sorted Array
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## Binary Search
Halve a **monotonic** search space each step → O(log n).
---
## Recognition
- Sorted input + "find / insert position"
- "Minimize the maximum" / "first value where condition flips"
- Answer itself is numeric and checkable → binary search **on the answer**
---
## Template
```js
function search(nums, target) {
let lo = 0;
let hi = nums.length - 1;
while (lo <= hi) {
const mid = lo + ((hi - lo) >> 1);
if (nums[mid] === target) return mid;
if (nums[mid] < target) lo = mid + 1;
else hi = mid - 1;
}
return -1; // lo is the insert position
}
```
---
## First-true boundary
```js
// smallest index where ok(i) is true; ok is false...false true...true
let lo = 0;
let hi = n; // exclusive; n means "never true"
while (lo < hi) {
const mid = lo + ((hi - lo) >> 1);
if (ok(mid)) hi = mid;
else lo = mid + 1;
}
return lo;
```
Most "hard" binary searches are this shape in disguise.
---
## Pitfalls
- Off-by-one: pick `lo <= hi` **or** `lo < hi` and stay consistent
- `mid = lo + ((hi - lo) >> 1)` avoids overflow and floats
- No progress → infinite loop: every branch must shrink the range
---
## Recall
- What property must the search space have? (not "sorted" — *monotonic*)
- Where does `lo` land when the target is absent?
- When do you search the answer space instead of the array?
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## Hashing
Trade O(n) memory for **O(1) average lookup**. The workhorse behind "have I seen this before?".
---
## Recognition
- "Does X exist?" / "How many times?" → `Set` / `Map`
- Pair matching (complement lookup) → map value → index
- Grouping by a derived key → map key → bucket
- Counting characters → frequency map
---
## Template — complement lookup (LC 1)
```js
function twoSum(nums, target) {
const seen = new Map(); // value -> index
for (let i = 0; i < nums.length; i++) {
const need = target - nums[i];
if (seen.has(need)) return [seen.get(need), i];
seen.set(nums[i], i);
}
}
```
One pass: check for the partner **before** inserting yourself.
---
## Template — grouping (LC 49)
```js
function groupAnagrams(strs) {
const groups = new Map();
for (const s of strs) {
const key = [...s].sort().join("");
if (!groups.has(key)) groups.set(key, []);
groups.get(key).push(s);
}
return [...groups.values()];
}
```
The whole trick is **choosing the canonical key**.
---
## Pitfalls
- Frequency compare needs both directions (surplus *and* deficit)
- Object keys coerce to strings — use `Map` for numbers
- Hashing is O(1) *average*; keys must be cheap to compute
---
## Recall
- Two Sum: why insert after the lookup, not before?
- Group Anagrams: name two valid canonical keys
- LC 128 Longest Consecutive: why check `!set.has(x - 1)` first?
---
## Drill
- 217 Contains Duplicate · 242 Valid Anagram
- 1 Two Sum · 49 Group Anagrams
- 347 Top K Frequent · 383 Ransom Note
- 205 Isomorphic Strings · 128 Longest Consecutive · 290 Word Pattern
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/**
* Markdown study decks rendered by the StudyDeck island (reveal.js).
*
* Each deck is a plain markdown file in this directory — edit the `.md`
* file to change its slides. Slides split on `---` lines; lists animate
* in one item at a time (see `animateLists` in StudyDeck.tsx). Problem
* numbers reference the curriculum in README.md and the solutions under
* `work/`.
*/
import arraysAndStrings from "./arrays-and-strings.md?raw";
import binarySearch from "./binary-search.md?raw";
import hashing from "./hashing.md?raw";
import prefixSum from "./prefix-sum.md?raw";
import slidingWindow from "./sliding-window.md?raw";
import twoPointers from "./two-pointers.md?raw";
export const decks = {
"arrays-and-strings": arraysAndStrings,
"binary-search": binarySearch,
hashing,
"prefix-sum": prefixSum,
"sliding-window": slidingWindow,
"two-pointers": twoPointers,
} as const;
export type DeckName = keyof typeof decks;
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## Prefix Sum
Precompute cumulative totals once → any range sum in **O(1)**.
---
## Recognition
- Many range-sum queries over a static array
- "Count subarrays with sum k" (negatives allowed — window won't work)
- "Product/sum of everything except me" → prefix from both directions
---
## Template — range query (LC 303)
```js
// prefix[i] = sum of nums[0..i-1], prefix[0] = 0
const prefix = [0];
for (const x of nums) prefix.push(prefix[prefix.length - 1] + x);
// sum of nums[l..r] inclusive:
const rangeSum = (l, r) => prefix[r + 1] - prefix[l];
```
The leading 0 removes every edge case at `l = 0`.
---
## Template — prefix + hashmap (LC 560)
```js
function subarraySum(nums, k) {
const count = new Map([[0, 1]]); // empty prefix
let sum = 0;
let total = 0;
for (const x of nums) {
sum += x;
total += count.get(sum - k) ?? 0; // earlier prefix to cut off
count.set(sum, (count.get(sum) ?? 0) + 1);
}
return total;
}
```
sum(l..r) = prefix[r] prefix[l1] — so look up `sum - k`.
---
## Pitfalls
- Forgetting the seed `(0, 1)` misses subarrays starting at index 0
- Count **before** inserting the current prefix (a subarray has length ≥ 1)
- Sliding window fails here when values can be negative
---
## Recall
- Why does LC 560 need a hashmap instead of a window?
- LC 238 Product Except Self: how do prefix and suffix passes combine?
- LC 525 Contiguous Array: what do you turn 0s into, and why?
---
## Drill
- 303 Range Sum Query · 1480 Running Sum
- 238 Product of Array Except Self
- 560 Subarray Sum Equals K
- 525 Contiguous Array · 974 Subarray Sums Divisible by K
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// Vite `?raw` imports resolve to the file's text content.
declare module "*.md?raw" {
const content: string;
export default content;
}
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## Sliding Window
Two pointers **plus incremental state** between them. Never recompute the window from scratch.
---
## Recognition
- "Longest / shortest **contiguous** subarray or substring such that…"
- Constraint is monotone: growing the window can only make it worse
- Fixed window size k → same idea, both ends move together
---
## Template — variable window (LC 3)
```js
function lengthOfLongestSubstring(s) {
const seen = new Set();
let best = 0;
let l = 0;
for (let r = 0; r < s.length; r++) {
while (seen.has(s[r])) { // shrink until valid
seen.delete(s[l]);
l++;
}
seen.add(s[r]);
best = Math.max(best, r - l + 1);
}
return best;
}
```
Grow with `r`, shrink with `l` only while invalid.
---
## Why it's O(n)
- `r` moves n times, `l` moves at most n times
- Each element enters and leaves the window **once**
- The inner `while` is amortized, not nested work
---
## Pitfalls
- State must update in O(1) on both add and remove
- "Shortest window" flips the loop: shrink while **valid**, record before breaking
- Doesn't apply when the constraint isn't monotone (mixed signs → prefix sum)
---
## Recall
- LC 121 Best Time to Buy/Sell: what is the "window state"? (min so far)
- LC 76 Minimum Window: what makes a window "valid"?
- When must you fall back to prefix sums instead?
---
## Drill
- 121 Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock
- 3 Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters
- 424 Longest Repeating Character Replacement
- 567 Permutation in String · 76 Minimum Window Substring
- 209 Minimum Size Subarray Sum
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## Two Pointers
Walk two indices instead of trying all pairs — **order lets you prune O(n²) → O(n)**.
---
## Recognition
- Sorted array + pair/target condition → converge from both ends
- Palindrome / symmetric check → ends inward
- In-place partition or dedupe → slow writer + fast reader
- Two sequences compared → one pointer each
---
## Template — converging (LC 167)
```js
function twoSumSorted(nums, target) {
let l = 0;
let r = nums.length - 1;
while (l < r) {
const sum = nums[l] + nums[r];
if (sum === target) return [l + 1, r + 1];
if (sum < target) l++; // need a bigger sum
else r--; // need a smaller sum
}
}
```
Each step discards every pair using the abandoned index — that's the proof.
---
## Template — fast/slow writer (LC 977 idea)
```js
function sortedSquares(nums) {
const out = new Array(nums.length);
let l = 0;
let r = nums.length - 1;
for (let i = nums.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
const a = nums[l] * nums[l];
const b = nums[r] * nums[r];
if (a > b) { out[i] = a; l++; }
else { out[i] = b; r--; }
}
return out;
}
```
Largest squares live at the **edges** — fill the output backwards.
---
## Pitfalls
- Moving the wrong pointer breaks the pruning argument
- Duplicates in 3Sum: skip repeats after each fixed element
- `l < r` vs `l <= r`: do the pointers meet or cross?
---
## Recall
- Container With Most Water: why move the *shorter* wall?
- 3Sum = sort + fix one + which pattern inside?
- Valid Palindrome: what do you do with non-alphanumerics?
---
## Drill
- 125 Valid Palindrome · 167 Two Sum II
- 15 3Sum · 11 Container With Most Water
- 42 Trapping Rain Water · 392 Is Subsequence
- 977 Squares of a Sorted Array · 80 Remove Duplicates II