Binary Search for Next Greater Element in Sorted Array

📘 DSA Journey — Day 31 Today’s focus: Binary Search for boundaries and square roots. Problems solved: • Sqrt(x) (LeetCode 69) • Search Insert Position (LeetCode 35) Concepts used: • Binary Search • Search space reduction • Boundary conditions Key takeaway: In Sqrt(x), the goal is to find the integer square root. Using binary search, we search in the range [1, x] and check mid * mid against x to narrow down the answer. This avoids linear iteration and achieves O(log n) time. In Search Insert Position, we use binary search to find either: • The exact position of the target, or • The correct index where it should be inserted The key idea is that when the target is not found, the final position of the left pointer gives the correct insertion index. These problems highlight how binary search is not just for finding elements, but also for determining positions and boundaries efficiently. Continuing to strengthen fundamentals and consistency in problem solving. #DSA #Java #LeetCode #CodingJourney

#Day79 of second #100DaysOfCode Binary search on answers is starting to click more now. DSA • Solved Minimum Number of Days to Make m Bouquets (LeetCode 1482) • Given bloom days, find the minimum day to make required bouquets – Brute: check each possible day and count valid bouquets → O(n × max(days)) – Optimal: binary search on days → O(n log max(days)) • Key idea: days form a monotonic search space — if a day works, all later days will also work • Focused on counting consecutive flowers correctly while checking feasibility These problems are really helping me understand how to model conditions for binary search. #DSA #BinarySearch #LeetCode #Algorithms #Java #100DaysOfCode #WomenWhoCode #BuildInPublic #LearningInPublic

📘 DSA Journey — Day 36 Today’s focus: Binary Search for boundaries. Problem solved: • Find First and Last Position of Element in Sorted Array (LeetCode 34) Concepts used: • Binary Search • Lower bound & upper bound • Searching boundaries efficiently Key takeaway: The goal is to find the first and last occurrence of a target in a sorted array. Instead of scanning linearly, we perform two binary searches: • First search → find the leftmost (first) occurrence • Second search → find the rightmost (last) occurrence Key idea: When we find the target: • For left boundary → continue searching in the left half • For right boundary → continue searching in the right half This ensures we capture the full range in O(log n) time. Continuing to strengthen binary search patterns and problem-solving consistency. #DSA #Java #LeetCode #CodingJourney

📘 DSA Journey — Day 27 Today’s focus: Binary Search on modified arrays. Problem solved: • Search in Rotated Sorted Array (LeetCode 33) Concepts used: • Binary Search • Identifying sorted halves • Conditional search space reduction Key takeaway: This problem extends binary search to a rotated sorted array, where the array is not fully sorted but divided into two sorted parts. At each step, we: • Find the mid element • Check which half (left or right) is sorted • Decide whether the target lies in the sorted half • Eliminate the other half This allows us to still achieve O(log n) time complexity. Continuing to strengthen fundamentals and problem-solving consistency. #DSA #Java #LeetCode #CodingJourney

📘 DSA Journey — Day 29 Today’s focus: Binary Search on answer space. Problem solved: • Find Peak Element (LeetCode 162) Concepts used: • Binary Search • Observing slope / trend • Search space reduction Key takeaway: The goal is to find a peak element (an element greater than its neighbors). Instead of checking all elements, we use binary search by observing the slope: • If nums[mid] < nums[mid + 1] → we are on an increasing slope, so a peak must exist on the right side • Else → we are on a decreasing slope, so a peak lies on the left side (including mid) By following this logic, we eliminate half of the search space each time and find a peak in O(log n) time. The key insight is: A peak is guaranteed to exist, and the direction of slope helps guide the search. Continuing to strengthen binary search intuition and consistency in problem solving. #DSA #Java #LeetCode #CodingJourney

📘 DSA Journey — Day 28 Today’s focus: Binary Search for minimum in rotated arrays. Problem solved: • Find Minimum in Rotated Sorted Array (LeetCode 153) Concepts used: • Binary Search • Identifying unsorted half • Search space reduction Key takeaway: The goal is to find the minimum element in a rotated sorted array. Using binary search, we compare the mid element with the rightmost element: • If nums[mid] > nums[right] → minimum lies in the right half • Else → minimum lies in the left half (including mid) This works because the rotation creates one unsorted region, and the minimum always lies in that region. By narrowing the search space each time, we achieve O(log n) time complexity. This problem highlights how slight modifications in array structure still allow binary search to work efficiently with the right observations. Continuing to strengthen binary search patterns and consistency in problem solving. #DSA #Java #LeetCode #CodingJourney

#CodeEveryday — My DSA Journey | Day 3 🧩 Problem Solved: Combination Sum III (LeetCode #216) 💭 What I Learned: Used backtracking to find all possible combinations of k numbers (1–9) that sum up to a target n. At each step: ✔️ Decided whether to include the current number ✔️ Reduced both the remaining sum (n) and count (k) ✔️ Ensured each number is used only once by moving to the previous index Applied constraints effectively to prune recursion when: Remaining sum becomes negative Required count becomes invalid This improved my understanding of handling multiple constraints (sum + size) simultaneously in recursion. ⏱ Time Complexity: O(C(9,k) 🧠 Space Complexity: O(k) (recursion depth) ⚡ Key Takeaways: ✔️ Backtracking with multiple constraints requires careful pruning ✔️ Fixed input size can significantly reduce complexity ✔️ Choosing + skipping pattern helps explore all valid combinations 💻 Language Used: Java ☕ 📘 Concepts: Backtracking · Recursion · Combinations · Constraint Handling #CodeEveryday #DSA #LeetCode #Java #Backtracking #ProblemSolving #Algorithms #CodingJourney #Consistency 🚀

Day 74 of #100DaysOfLeetCode 💻✅ Solved #162. Find Peak Element problem in Java. Approach: • Used Binary Search technique to efficiently find the peak element • Set two pointers, left at start and right at end of the array • Calculated mid index using safe mid formula • Compared nums[mid] with nums[mid + 1] to determine direction • If mid element is smaller, moved search space to right half • Otherwise, moved search space to left half including mid • Continued until left and right pointers converged • Final position (left == right) represents the peak index Performance: ✓ Runtime: 0 ms (Beats 100.00% submissions) 🚀 ✓ Memory: 44.32 MB (Beats 25.49% submissions) Key Learning: ✓ Strengthened understanding of Binary Search on unsorted arrays ✓ Learned how to apply divide-and-conquer beyond traditional searching ✓ Improved intuition for peak finding using neighbor comparison ✓ Practiced optimizing search space instead of linear scanning Learning one problem every single day 🚀 #Java #LeetCode #DSA #BinarySearch #Arrays #ProblemSolving #CodingJourney #100DaysOfCode

🚀 DSA Every Day – Day 2 📍 Problem: Minimum Distance to Target Element 💡 Platform: LeetCode 🧠 Approach: Brute Force with Bidirectional Traversal 🔍 Problem Summary: Given an array, a target value, and a starting index, find the minimum distance between the start index and any index where the target exists. ⚙️ Approach Explained: Traverse forward (start → end) Traverse backward (start → beginning) For each occurrence of target: Compute distance → |start - i| Maintain the minimum distance 📈 Complexity Analysis: Time Complexity: O(n) Space Complexity: O(1) 🎯 Key Takeaways: Always think in terms of distance minimization problems Bidirectional traversal ensures complete coverage Can be optimized further using early stopping if needed Tell me your approach in comments ? Would love if people would like to join me in this habit for learning every day. 🔥 Progress: Day 2/ 60 #DSA #LeetCode #Java #CodingJourney #ProblemSolving #SoftwareEngineering #60DaysOfCode

Day 82 of DSA Journey Solved Isomorphic Strings today! This problem looks simple, but it teaches an important concept — one-to-one mapping between characters. 🔍 What I learned: Each character in one string must map to exactly one character in the other No two characters should map to the same character Consistency across the entire string is key 💡 Approach: Used two HashMaps to track mappings in both directions: s → t t → s This avoids conflicts and ensures correctness. 🧠 Example: "paper" → "title" ✅ "foo" → "bar" ❌ ✨ Key takeaway: Always think about bidirectional mapping when dealing with transformation problems. Small problem, but powerful concept! #DSA #Java #CodingJourney #100DaysOfCode #ProblemSolving