🚀 Day 56 of #100DaysOfCode
Today’s problem was “Count and Say” from LeetCode, and honestly, it turned out to be a great exercise in understanding patterns and strengthening my fundamentals in strings and iteration.
At first glance, the problem looks a bit confusing because of its recursive definition. But once I broke it down, I realized that it’s all about reading the previous result and constructing the next one using run-length encoding (RLE).
🧠 My Approach:
I started with the base case:
👉 Count and say(1) = "1"
Then for every next step, I:
* Traversed the current string
* Counted consecutive repeating characters
* Built a new string by appending:
(count + character)
For example:
* "1" → "11" (one 1)
* "11" → "21" (two 1s)
* "21" → "1211" (one 2, one 1)
This step-by-step transformation helped me clearly understand how the sequence evolves.
💡 Key Learnings from Today:
* Breaking complex problems into smaller steps makes them manageable
* String traversal and careful indexing are very important
* While loops can be more useful than for loops in pattern-based problems
* Edge cases (like last character handling) need extra attention
* Writing clean and readable code helps avoid logical mistakes
⚙️ Challenges I Faced:
Initially, I struggled with managing the pointer while counting characters and ensuring I don’t skip any element. But after dry-running the code and visualizing the process, everything started making sense.
🔥 What I Improved Today:
* Better understanding of pattern-based problems
* More confidence in handling strings
* Improved logical thinking and debugging skills
✨ This journey is teaching me that consistency beats perfection. Even if the problem feels tricky at first, spending time understanding it deeply always pays off.
📌 Every day I’m getting a little closer to becoming a better problem solver.
Let’s keep going 💪
#Day56 #100DaysOfCode #LeetCode #DSA #CodingJourney #ProblemSolving #Cpp #LearnToCode #Consistency #GrowthMindset #Developers #TechJourney
Codeforces humbles you, LeetCode builds you,. both scars are worth it Siddharth S.