DSA & Algorithms — 9 · Month Roadmap

Complexity, data structures, algorithms, and competitive mastery.

00 · Command

• The 9-Month DSA Fortress
• Month-by-Month Execution Map
• Sprint Calendar
• North Star Artifacts
• Weekly Rhythm
• KPI Dashboard
• Background Alignment
• The Nine-Month Pitch

01 · Foundations Complexity

• Phase 0 — Foundations & Complexity
• Big-O Mastery
• Recurrence Relations & the Master Theorem
• Mathematical Thinking for DSA
• Pseudocode and Problem-Solving Protocol
• Phase 0 Exit Criteria & Projects

02 · Core Data Structures

• Phase 1 — Core Data Structures
• Arrays and Strings
• Linked Lists
• Stacks and Queues
• Hash Tables
• Heaps and Priority Queues
• Phase 1 Exit Criteria and Projects

03 · Recursion and Trees

• Phase 2 — Recursion, Trees & Divide-and-Conquer
• Recursion Mechanics
• Divide & Conquer
• Binary Trees — Recursion Given Form
• Binary Search Trees — Order From Structure
• Backtracking — Exhaustive Search Done Right
• Tries — Prefix Trees Built for Strings
• Phase 2 Exit Criteria & Projects

04 · Graphs and Search

• Phase 3 — Graphs & Search
• Graph Fundamentals — The Language of Connections
• BFS and DFS — The Two Traversals That Power Everything
• Topological Sort — Ordering Dependencies
• Shortest Paths — Getting There With Minimum Cost
• Union-Find (Disjoint Set Union) — Dynamic Connectivity
• Minimum Spanning Trees — Connecting Everything at Minimum Cost
• Phase 3 Exit Criteria & Projects

05 · Dynamic Programming

• Phase 4: Dynamic Programming
• DP Foundations: The Two Pillars and Five Questions
• 1D and Linear DP
• 03 — 2D Grid & String DP
• 04 — Knapsack Patterns
• 05 — Interval DP & Subsequence DP
• 06 — Tree DP & Bitmask DP
• 07 — DP Pattern Recognition
• 08 — Phase 4 Exit Criteria & Projects

06 · Advanced Algorithms

• Phase 5 — Advanced Algorithms & Data Structures
• 01 — Segment Trees
• 02 — Fenwick Trees (Binary Indexed Trees)
• 03 — Greedy Algorithms
• 04 — Bit Manipulation
• 05 — String Algorithms
• 06 — Advanced Sorting & Search
• 07 — Phase 5 Exit Criteria & Projects

07 · Competitive Mastery

• Phase 6 — Competitive Mastery
• Contest Strategy
• 02 — Pattern Recognition at Speed
• 03 — Reading Editorials Correctly
• 04 — Stress Testing and Debugging
• 05 — Template Library
• 06 — Deliberate Practice Protocol
• 07 — Exit Criteria and Final State

09 · Resources

• 09 — Resource Canon
• 01 — Books
• 02 — Courses
• 03 — Problem Banks
• 04 — Visualizers and Learning Tools
• 05 — Papers and Reference Materials
• Phase-to-Resource Master Map

10 · Communities

• 10 — Communities
• Online Communities
• YouTube Channels
• Blogs and Newsletters
• India-Specific Context

11 · Tools Setup

• 11 — Tools Setup
• IDE and Development Environment
• Problem Tracking
• Competitive Programming Setup
• Day 1 Checklist — August 1, 2026

12 · Portfolio

• Portfolio Ladder — Public Proof-of-Work
• Portfolio Ladder — Master Reference
• Rung 1 — Complexity Audit Repository
• Rung 2 — Data Structure Library from Scratch
• Rung 3 — “Explain the Algorithm” Blog Series
• Rung 4 — LeetCode 100 Hard Milestone
• Rung 5: Graph Algorithm Showcase
• Rung 6: Dynamic Programming Pattern Handbook
• Rung 7: Codeforces Rating ≥ 1200 (Newbie → Pupil)
• Rung 8: The M9 Capstone

13 · Discipline

• 13 — Discipline
• 01 — Sprint Cadence
• 02 — Lab Notebook
• 03 — Benchmark Hygiene
• 04 — Daily Practice
• 05 — Teach to Learn
• 06 — Failure Modes
• 07 — Motivation Sustainment
• 08 — Health, Burnout, and the Permission Slip
• 09 — Interview and Assessment Conversion

99 · Pre Mortem

• 99 — Pre-Mortem: The Adversarial Lens
• Pre-Mortem 01 — The AI Crutch
• Pre-Mortem 02 — Topic Skipping
• Pre-Mortem 03 — The Memorizer Trap
• Pre-Mortem 04 — The Plateau Grind
• Pre-Mortem 05 — Motivation Collapse
• Pre-Mortem 06 — Scope Creep
• Pre-Mortem 07 — Isolation Degradation
• Pre-Mortem 08 — Life, Health, and Family
• 09 — Summary and Reset Protocol