Algorithms & data structures
Classic patterns — search, sort, stacks, queues, and practical complexity-aware code.
How to Apply a Function to Sliding Window Slices in Python
This Python code applies a given function to every contiguous window of a specified size in a list, returning a list of results.
def apply_to_sliding_windows(data, window_size, func):
return [func(data[i:i + window_size]) for i in range(len(data) - window_size + 1)]
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
window_size = 3
results = apply_to_sliding_windows(numbers, window_size, sum)
print(results)
results…
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 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 partition a list into n nearly equal parts in Python
Divide a list into n contiguous chunks of nearly equal size using an average-length calculation that distributes the remainder evenly.
def partition(lst, n):
"""Partition a list into n nearly equal contiguous parts."""
if n <= 0:
raise ValueError("n must be positive")
if not lst:
return [[] for _ in range(n)]
parts = []
avg = len(lst) / n
last_idx = 0.0
while last_idx < len(lst):
end_idx =…
Remove item at index without pop in Python
Remove an item at a given index from a list without using pop by slicing the list around the index.
def remove_at_index(lst, index):
"""Remove item at index and return the new list."""
if index < 0 or index >= len(lst):
raise IndexError("Index out of range")
return lst[:index] + lst[index + 1:]
if __name__ == "__main__":
items = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
result = remove_at_index(items, 2)
…
Reorder a List by Odd Even Indices in Python
Splits a list into two sublists based on 1-based index parity, then concatenates odd-indexed elements before even-indexed ones.
def reorder_by_odd_even(items):
"""Reorders a list so that elements at odd indices come first,
followed by elements at even indices (1-based).
Example: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6] -> [1,3,5,0,2,4,6]
"""
odds = [items[i] for i in range(1, len(items), 2)]
evens = [items[i] for i in range(0, len(items), …
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