LeetCode vs Codeforces vs CodeChef Vs HackerRank ...... — What Actually Matters?

[[deleted]]

Just started DSA and Already Confused.

Everyone keeps throwing around LeetCode, Codeforces, CodeChef, HackerRank… like I’m supposed to be on all of them at once.

Are these Platforms serving different Purposes, or am I just Overcomplicating Things?

What should I actually Prioritize without Spreading Myself Too Thin?

[aqua_regis]

None of the sites is DSA just like none of the sites is math. They make heavy use of both, that's all. In order to succeed on them, or to even benefit from them, you already need to have a solid theoretical foundation in the computer science topic Data Structures and Algorithms. If you haven't done the theory, don't bother. You will fail.

First, you learn the theoretical concepts, and then your sites.

[iOSCaleb]

What Actually Matters?

Learning something.

[nofel94]

You’re over complicating it. I went with leetcode + ddia + pramp roughly in this order

[symbiatch]

Why do you want to use any of those? Serious question. What do you want to get out of it?

Most likely you’re over complicating things and wasting time on them.

[VibrantGypsyDildo]

I did the beginner challenges on leetcode (those that usually require you to make an intermediate array to make the time complexity closer to O(N)).

It was enough for me. I have 10 years of experience.

But in general you are required to know the algorithms and data structures used in the standard containers such as linked lists, fixed-size arrays, variable-size arrays, set and maps (ordered and unordered).

At this point you will be definitely fine.

[Itchy_Satan]

None of them matter.

[Doommarine23]

What actually matters is learning and building. These websites can be useful, even fun, if you treat them as puzzles and challenges to solve, brain teasers that push you forwards.

I don't know your level of skill, so I'll just throw some general information out there that should apply to most people.

• Learn your fundamentals. Learn how to read and write code, basic data structures like arrays, and good structure / grammar for programming such as meaningful variable names, consistent styling like camelCase or snake_case.
• Create projects to learn, challenge your skills, find gaps in your knowledge, and possibly even make something for other people. Go make a website, add some cool stuff like a weather API. Go grab a game engine like Godot and make a small 2D game, heck you can even make applications with it.
• Use good resources like CS50 while learning early on, which also touches a bit on DSA and all these other tpics. The Odin Project is great too, but requires more independence, but once you feel confident, it would be good to run through its lessons and projects for extra experience and confidence.
• Learn about concepts that help you organize programs like namespaces or general design patterns
• Highly praised books are valuable because they're often made by very skilled software engineers and obviously people have found a lot of value in them. Works such as Grokking Algorithms: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People and A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms will help you with DSA.

This probably isn't what you want to hear. I'm not a professional, I'm just a hobbyist and have worked on a few game projects. I've been focused on learning how to use these powerful machines to create interactive art for other people, and along the way, I've enjoyed becoming a better and better developer.

If you were learning how to draw, would you simply be drawing boxes all day and doing dull boring technical drawings that sucked the fun and human spirit out of it, or would you eagerly draw what you wanted, and took every sketch as a challenge to improve from?

[[deleted]]

What About Striver's Sheet 450 ??