algorithms/docs/daily-practice.md

Daily Practice Log

2026-05-17 - Week 1, Day 1

Today's Focus: Array basics and linear operations Learning Phase: Phase 1, Week 1 - Foundations Difficulty Level: Easy (Focus on understanding)

Problems Solved Today

1. Array Basics - Linear Search

Problem: Find target in unsorted array Approach: Simple linear traversal Time Complexity: O(n) Space Complexity: O(1) Learning Points:

• Linear search is straightforward for small arrays
• Important to check array bounds first
• Early termination when found improves average case

2. Array Basics - Frequency Counting

Problem: Count occurrences of each element Approach: Use hash map for frequency tracking Time Complexity: O(n) Space Complexity: O(n) Learning Points:

• Hash maps are perfect for frequency counting
• Need to handle empty array case
• Can use array indices if elements are within range

3. Array Basics - Find Minimum/Maximum

Problem: Find min and max in array Approach: Single pass comparison Time Complexity: O(n) Space Complexity: O(1) Learning Points:

• Can find both in one traversal
• Initialize with first element
• Update when finding smaller/larger values

Key Learnings

1. Array traversal patterns: Start with simple loops, understand index management
2. Basic operations: Search, count, find min/max are fundamental building blocks
3. Edge cases: Always consider empty arrays, single element arrays
4. Time complexity: Linear time is acceptable for basic operations on small datasets

Questions & Insights

• Question: When should I use linear search vs binary search? Answer: Linear search for unsorted data, binary search for sorted data
• Insight: Basic array operations are simple but crucial for understanding more complex algorithms
• Aha moment: Frequency counting is the foundation for many hash map problems

Tomorrow's Plan

Focus: Two pointers fundamentals Target Problems:

1. Basic two sum (sorted array)
2. Container with most water
3. Array intersection (sorted)

Repository Connection

Related algorithms in lib/:

• twoSum - Two pointers approach
• maxArea - Container with most water
• intersection - Array intersection

---

Practice Time: 45 minutes
Problems Completed: 3
Difficulty: Easy (3/3)
Success Rate: 100%
Next Steps: Practice more array basics, move to two pointers tomorrow