In-Depth Competitive Programming Learning Path

A comprehensive roadmap to conquer advanced topics in competitive programming and Olympiads.

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Phase Main Topic Content Goal
1 Introduction & Basic Techniques
  • Input/Output & Data Types
  • Prefix Sums, Difference Arrays
  • Greedy Techniques
  • Recursion & Backtracking
Master foundational programming concepts and techniques.
2 Sorting & Binary Search
  • Sorting Algorithms
  • Binary Search
  • Binary Search the Answer
  • Two Pointers / Sliding Window
Master efficient searching and sorting techniques.
3 Dynamic Programming (Part 1)
  • Longest Increasing Subsequence (LIS)
  • Knapsack Problem
  • Longest Common Subsequence (LCS)
  • Grid DP
Build a foundational understanding of dynamic programming with classic problems.
4 Basic Data Structures
  • Stack & Queue
  • Fenwick Tree (BIT)
  • Segment Tree
  • Lazy Propagation
Proficiently use efficient data structures for query-based problems.
5 Graph Algorithms (Part 1)
  • Graph Representation
  • DFS & BFS
  • Dijkstra's Algorithm
  • Bellman-Ford & Floyd-Warshall
Master basic graph traversal and shortest path algorithms.
6 Dynamic Programming (Part 2)
  • Tree DP
  • Bitmask DP
  • Probability DP
  • DP Optimization
Extend and apply DP to more complex problem types.
7 Graph Algorithms (Part 2)
  • Minimum Spanning Tree (MST)
  • Topological Sort
  • Strongly Connected Components (SCC)
  • Lowest Common Ancestor (LCA)
Understand and apply advanced graph algorithms.
8 Number Theory & Combinatorics
  • Sieve of Eratosthenes
  • Modular Arithmetic & Fast Exponentiation
  • Extended Euclidean Algorithm
  • Combinatorics & Inclusion-Exclusion
Solve problems related to mathematics and combinatorics.
9 String Processing
  • String Hashing
  • KMP Algorithm
  • Trie (Prefix Tree)
  • Z Algorithm
Master efficient string processing and matching algorithms.
10 Advanced Data Structures
  • Disjoint Set Union (DSU)
  • Sparse Table
  • SQRT Decomposition
  • Persistent Segment Tree
Utilize complex data structures to optimize algorithms.
11 Computational Geometry
  • Basic Vector Operations
  • Convex Hull
  • Line Sweep
  • Closest Pair of Points
Solve problems related to geometry and coordinates.
12 Olympiad Topics
  • Max Flow
  • Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)
  • Game Theory
  • Suffix Array
Conquer difficult and rare topics found in major competitions.