DSA Roadmap
1. Language Selection
● Pick one language (Java, C++, Python) and ensure a solid grasp of its syntax and
libraries relevant to DSA.
2. Programming Foundations
● Master the Basics
○ Data Types
○ Variables
○ Operators
○ Conditional Statements
○ Loops
○ Functions
● Understand Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
○ Class & Objects
○ Inheritance
○ Abstraction
○ Encapsulation
○ Polymorphism
3. Linear Data Structures
● Arrays
● Linked Lists (Singly and Doubly Linked Lists)
● Stack
● Queues (including Circular Queue and Deque)
● Hash Maps / Hash Tables
4. Time and Space Complexities
● Time Complexity (Big-O, Big-Theta, Big-Omega)
● Space Complexity
● Methods to Calculate Complexities (Iterative and Recursive Analysis)
5. Sorting Algorithms
● Bubble Sort
● Insertion Sort
● Selection Sort
● Merge Sort
● Quick Sort
● Heap Sort
6. Searching Algorithms
● Linear Search
● Binary Search
7. Tree Data Structures
● Concepts
○ Binary Trees
○ Binary Search Trees
○ AVL Trees
○ B Trees
● Tree Traversal
○ Pre-order Traversal
○ In-order Traversal
○ Post-order Traversal
○ Level-order Traversal
● Algorithms
○ Breadth-First Search (BFS)
○ Depth-First Search (DFS)
8. Graph Data Structures
● Representation
○ Adjacency Matrix
○ Adjacency List
● Directed Graphs
○ Topological Sorting (including Kahn’s Algorithm)
○ Cycle Detection
● Undirected Graphs
○ Dijkstra’s Algorithm
○ Spanning Trees
○ Minimum Spanning Tree (Prim’s and Kruskal’s Algorithms)
● Graph Traversal
○ Breadth-First Traversal
○ Depth-First Traversal
9. Complex and Advanced Data Structures
● Tries
● B/B+ Trees
● Segment Trees
● Fenwick Trees (Binary Indexed Trees)
● Tree-Based Indexing
Problem-Solving Techniques
● Recursion
● Brute Force
● Two Pointer Technique
● Greedy Algorithms
● Sliding Window Technique
● Divide and Conquer
● Dynamic Programming (1D and 2D problems)
● Backtracking
Useful Resources:
Platforms To Practice DSA:
Leetcode - https://leetcode.com/
Codechef - https://www.codechef.com/
Hackerrank - https://www.hackerrank.com/
Video Tutorial: freeCodeCamp's DSA Course
Learn and Practice DSA - Strivers A2Z DSA Course
Visualise Data Structures and Algorithms:
https://visualgo.net/en
https://www.cs.usfca.edu/~galles/visualization/Algorithms.html
System Design Roadmap
1. Fundamentals of System Design
● Basic Computer Science Knowledge:
○ Networking: TCP/IP, HTTP/HTTPS, DNS, Load Balancers.
○ Operating Systems: Processes, Threads, Sockets, File Systems.
○ Databases: SQL, NoSQL, ACID, BASE.
● Scalability:
○ Vertical vs. Horizontal Scaling
○ CAP Theorem.
● System Design Basics:
○ Monolithic vs. Microservices
○ APIs: REST, GraphQL, gRPC
2. Core Components
● Databases:
○ SQL: MySQL, PostgreSQL.
○ NoSQL: MongoDB, Cassandra, Redis.
○ Sharding, Indexing, Query Optimization
● Caching:
○ Client-Side, Server-Side, Distributed Caching
○ Tools: Redis, Memcached
● Load Balancing:
○ Algorithms: Round Robin, Least Connections
○ Tools: Nginx, HAProxy, AWS ELB
● Message Queues:
○ Concepts: Pub/Sub, Dead Letter Queues
○ Tools: Kafka, RabbitMQ, Amazon SQS
● Storage Solutions:
○ Block Storage, Object Storage (e.g., S3), CDNs
3. High-Level Design (HLD)
● System Architecture:
○ Monolithic vs. Microservices.
○ Event-Driven vs. Request-Response
● System Components:
○ Databases
○ Caching
○ Load Balancers
○ APIs
● Component Interaction:
○ Communication Protocols:
■ REST
■ RPC
■ gRPC
● Scalability & Fault Tolerance:
○ Horizontal/Vertical Scaling
○ Redundancy
● Security:
○ Authentication
○ Encryption (SSL/TLS)
4. Low-Level Design (LLD)
● Data Structures:
○ Arrays
○ Trees
○ Graphs
○ Tries
○ Segment Trees
● Algorithms:
○ Sorting
○ Searching
○ BFS
○ DFS
● Class Design:
○ OOP Principles
○ UML Diagrams.
● Code Efficiency:
○ Time/Space Optimization
○ Profiling
5. Advanced Concepts
● Distributed Systems:
○ Leader Election
○ Consensus (Paxos, Raft)
● Scalability & High Availability:
○ Auto-Scaling
○ Failover Mechanisms
● Data Engineering:
○ Batch vs. Stream Processing
○ Apache Spark
● Observability:
○ Metrics: Prometheus.
○ Logging: ELK Stack.
○ Tracing: Jaeger.
Real-World System Design
● Patterns:
○ Event-Driven
○ CQRS
○ Saga
● Popular Problems:
○ URL Shortener
○ File Storage
○ Notification System
○ Ride-Sharing
● Security:
○ OAuth
○ JWT
○ API Security
Useful Resources
1. Visualize Distributed Systems Concepts
○ Raft Consensus Animation.
○ System Design Visualizations
2. Video Tutorials
○ System Design YouTube Series by Gaurav Sen
○ freeCodeCamp’s System Design Playlist
○ High Level Design tutorial Playlist
○ Low Level Design tutorial Playlist
3. System Design Interview
○ Read: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ka3Vd5jk0zJVIlzlHGJ-4qfUhutPsMCp/view
4. Course
○ Complete System Design Videos by Striver
5. Mock Interviews
○ Pramp - https://www.pramp.com/dev/uc-system-design
○ InterviewBit - https://www.interviewbit.com/system-design-interview-questions/
