Algorithms & data structures
Classic patterns — search, sort, stacks, queues, and practical complexity-aware code.
How to Flatten List of Dict Values in Python
This code flattens the values of a list of dictionaries into a single list, handling both list values and scalar values.
def flatten_dict_values(dicts):
flattened = []
for d in dicts:
for value in d.values():
if isinstance(value, list):
flattened.extend(value)
else:
flattened.append(value)
return flattened
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [
{"a": …How to Generate Fibonacci Sequence in Python
Generate the first n Fibonacci numbers as a list using a simple iterative loop.
def fibonacci(n):
"""Generate the first n terms of the Fibonacci sequence."""
if n <= 0:
return []
seq = [0, 1]
while len(seq) < n:
seq.append(seq[-1] + seq[-2])
return seq[:n]
if __name__ == "__main__":
n = 10
result = fibonacci(n)
print(result)How to Generate Permutations of Length r in Python
Generate and print all r-length permutations of a list using Python's itertools.permutations.
from itertools import permutations
def show_permutations(items, r):
result = list(permutations(items, r))
for perm in result:
print(perm)
print(f"Total: {len(result)}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = ["A", "B", "C"]
show_permutations(data, 2)How to Generate a Geometric Progression List in Python
This Python function builds a list of n terms in a geometric progression, starting with a given first term and multiplying by a constant ratio at each step.
def geometric_progression(first_term, ratio, count):
"""
Generate a list of 'count' terms in a geometric progression
starting with 'first_term' and multiplied by 'ratio' each step.
"""
progression = []
current = first_term
for _ in range(count):
progression.append(current)
c…How to Generate a Power Set in Python with Bitmasks
Generate the power set of a small list using a bitmask approach, producing all possible subsets.
def power_set(items):
"""Generate the power set of a list using bitmask approach."""
n = len(items)
result = []
for mask in range(1 << n):
subset = []
for i in range(n):
if mask & (1 << i):
subset.append(items[i])
result.append(subset)
r…How to Generate an Arithmetic Progression List in Python
Generates a list of terms in an arithmetic progression using a list comprehension.
def generate_ap(start, difference, count):
"""Generate a list of n terms in an arithmetic progression."""
return [start + i * difference for i in range(count)]
if __name__ == "__main__":
ap = generate_ap(3, 5, 6)
print(ap)How to Get All Combinations of a List in Python
Generate and display all combinations of a given length from a list using Python's itertools.combinations.
from itertools import combinations
def list_combinations(items, r):
"""Return all combinations of length r from a list."""
return list(combinations(items, r))
if __name__ == "__main__":
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
pick = 2
result = list_combinations(fruits, pick)
print…How to Get the Breadth-First Traversal Order of a Graph in Python
Performs a breadth-first search on an adjacency list and returns the order nodes are visited, using a deque for efficient queue operations.
from collections import deque
def bfs_order(adjacency, start=0):
"""Return the order nodes are visited in a breadth-first traversal."""
visited = set()
order = []
queue = deque([start])
visited.add(start)
while queue:
node = queue.popleft()
order.append(node)
for neig…How to Heapify a List into a Min Heap with heapq in Python
Convert any list into a valid min heap in-place using Python's heapq.heapify(), then pop the smallest element to verify heap order.
import heapq
data = [5, 3, 8, 1, 9, 2, 7, 4, 6]
print("Original list:", data)
heapq.heapify(data)
print("Min heap:", data)
popped = heapq.heappop(data)
print("Smallest element popped:", popped)
print("Heap after pop:", data)How to Implement a Moving Average from a Data Stream in Python
Implement a MovingAverage class using a deque and running sum to compute the average of the last k values from a continuous data stream.
from collections import deque
class MovingAverage:
def __init__(self, size):
self.size = size
self.queue = deque()
self.window_sum = 0
def next(self, val):
self.queue.append(val)
self.window_sum += val
if len(self.queue) > self.size:
self.window_su…How to Implement a Recent Counter with a Deque in Python
Implements a RecentCounter class that uses a deque to count ping requests within the last 3000 milliseconds.
from collections import deque
import time
class RecentCounter:
def __init__(self):
self.hits = deque()
def ping(self, t: int) -> int:
self.hits.append(t)
while self.hits and self.hits[0] < t - 3000:
self.hits.popleft()
return len(self.hits)
if __name__ == "__mai…How to Map Strings to Uppercase in Python
Loops through a list of strings and builds a new list with each string converted to uppercase.
strings = ["hello", "world", "python", "skillset"]
uppercased = []
for s in strings:
uppercased.append(s.upper())
print(uppercased)How to Remove Banned Values from a List in Python
Filters a list by removing elements present in a banned set, preserving the original order.
def remove_banned(values, banned):
banned_set = set(banned)
return [item for item in values if item not in banned_set]
if __name__ == "__main__":
values = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 3, 7]
banned = [2, 3]
result = remove_banned(values, banned)
print(result)How to Remove Duplicates in Python Preserving Order
Removes duplicate items from a list while keeping the first occurrence order intact using a set for fast membership checks.
def remove_duplicates_preserving_order(items):
seen = set()
result = []
for item in items:
if item not in seen:
seen.add(item)
result.append(item)
return result
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = [3, 1, 2, 1, 3, 4, 2, 5]
unique_items = remove_duplicates_preserv…How to Replace Outliers Beyond Threshold with Cap in Python
Replace values that fall below a lower threshold or above an upper threshold by capping them to the threshold values using a simple Python function.
def replace_outliers_with_cap(data, lower_threshold=None, upper_threshold=None):
"""Replace values beyond given thresholds with the threshold values (capping)."""
if lower_threshold is None and upper_threshold is None:
raise ValueError("At least one threshold must be provided.")
capped_data = …How to Rotate an Array by k Steps in Python
This code rotates a list to the right by k positions using modulo arithmetic to handle k larger than the list length.
def rotate_array(nums, k):
if not nums:
return []
n = len(nums)
k = k % n
return nums[-k:] + nums[:-k] if k else nums[:]
if __name__ == "__main__":
arr = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
k = 2
result = rotate_array(arr, k)
print(f"Original: {arr}")
print(f"Rotated by {k}: {result}")How to Sample Random Items Without Replacement in Python
Select k random unique items from a sequence using random.sample for uniform, non-repeating selection.
import random
def sample_without_replacement(population, k):
"""Return k random items from population without replacement."""
if k > len(population):
raise ValueError("k cannot exceed population size")
# Use random.sample for O(k) time, no mutation of the original
return random.sample(populati…How to Search a Rotated Sorted List in Python
Binary search a pivot-rotated sorted list for a target value and return its index in O(log n) time.
from typing import List
def search_rotated(nums: List[int], target: int) -> int:
left, right = 0, len(nums) - 1
while left <= right:
mid = (left + right) // 2
if nums[mid] == target:
return mid
# left half is sorted
if nums[left] <= nums[mid]:
if nums[…How to Solve Daily Temperatures Days Until Warmer in Python
Compute the number of days until a warmer temperature for each day using a monotonic stack.
def daily_temperatures(temps):
n = len(temps)
result = [0] * n
stack = []
for i, temp in enumerate(temps):
while stack and temps[stack[-1]] < temp:
prev_idx = stack.pop()
result[prev_idx] = i - prev_idx
stack.append(i)
return result
if __name__ == …How to Solve the Trapping Rain Water Problem in Python
Compute the total water trapped between elevation bars using a two-pointer O(n) algorithm.
def trap(height):
if not height:
return 0
left, right = 0, len(height) - 1
left_max, right_max = 0, 0
water = 0
while left < right:
if height[left] < height[right]:
if height[left] >= left_max:
left_max = height[left]
else:
…How to Sort Array by Parity (Even Before Odd) in Python
Rearrange an array so all even numbers appear before all odd numbers using a simple two-list partition approach.
def sort_array_by_parity(nums):
"""
Rearrange the array so that all even integers come first,
followed by all odd integers. The order within even and odd
groups is not required to be sorted.
"""
even = []
odd = []
for num in nums:
if num % 2 == 0:
even.append(nu…How to Sort Colors (Dutch National Flag) in Python
In-place sorting of a list of 0s, 1s, and 2s using the Dutch National Flag algorithm with O(n) time and O(1) space.
def sort_colors(nums):
low, mid, high = 0, 0, len(nums) - 1
while mid <= high:
if nums[mid] == 0:
nums[low], nums[mid] = nums[mid], nums[low]
low += 1
mid += 1
elif nums[mid] == 1:
mid += 1
else: # nums[mid] == 2
nums[mid], n…How to Split a List by a Predicate into Two Lists in Python
Partition any Python list into two lists based on a predicate: items that match go into one list, everything else into the other.
from typing import Callable, List, TypeVar
T = TypeVar("T")
def split_by_predicate(items: List[T], predicate: Callable[[T], bool]) -> tuple[List[T], List[T]]:
matching = []
non_matching = []
for item in items:
if predicate(item):
matching.append(item)
else:
non_mat…How to compress consecutive numbers into range strings in Python
Convert a sorted list of consecutive integers into compact range strings like '1-3', '5-6', and '15'.
def compress_ranges(nums):
"""Convert a list of sorted consecutive numbers into range strings."""
if not nums:
return []
ranges = []
start = prev = nums[0]
for num in nums[1:]:
if num == prev + 1:
prev = num
else:
if start == prev:
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