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Developing Work Skills · Career & Development

Problem Solving and Algorithms

Compare linear search, Sets, Maps and binary search by counting the work they do.

Level
Intermediate
Estimated study
About 24 hours
Lessons
9 lessons in 3 modules
Format
Online, self-paced
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About this course

Practice choosing and explaining a solution before writing code. Use small JavaScript problems to understand data structures, search and the cost of repeated work.

What you will be able to do

  • Break a problem into examples, constraints and steps.
  • Choose arrays, sets or maps for an appropriate task.
  • Compare simple search and sorting strategies and explain their tradeoffs.

Course outline

Module 1: Make the problem concrete

3 lessons · 8 h

Write examples, identify edge cases and outline a solution in plain language.

  1. Define a Search Contract Before Coding2 h 40 min
  2. Trace a Linear Search One Comparison at a Time2 h 40 min
  3. Test Empty, Invalid and Duplicate Data2 h 40 min

Module 2: Choose data structures

3 lessons · 8 h

Practice collections, lookup and deduplication with useful scenarios.

  1. Choose Arrays for Ordered Views2 h 40 min
  2. Use Sets for Uniqueness and Membership2 h 40 min
  3. Build a Map Index for Repeated Lookups2 h 40 min

Module 3: Compare approaches

3 lessons · 8 h

Explore search, sorting and growth in work without relying on memorized answers.

  1. Compare Growth with Operation Counts2 h 40 min
  2. Search a Sorted Array with Binary Search2 h 40 min
  3. Deliver and Explain a Resource-Search Utility2 h 40 min
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