where it usually goes wrong
the six that cost
the most marks
recursion
the base case and trusting the recursive call. tracing three levels by hand is usually the thing that makes it click.
big-o
it describes growth, not speed. an o(n log n) can lose to an o(n²) on small input, and constants do exist.
choosing a data structure
array, hash map, tree or heap. the right one turns an awkward problem into a short one.
pointers, references and memory
what is copied and what is shared. most confusing bugs live here.
debugging as a method
reproduce, narrow, hypothesise, test. reading the stack trace properly beats changing lines at random.
sql and query logic
joins, grouping, and why a where clause and a having clause are not interchangeable.
what to post
a photo of the problem, or a sentence about where you got stuck. set the deadline and attach anything that matters — the sheet, your working, the slides.
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