interview-prep

How to Efficiently Use Weiss (Without Wasting Time)

💡 Goal: Get just enough theory to understand how each structure works and then immediately apply it with LeetCode problems.

What You Should Read (Fast Skim, Not Deep Dive)

📖 Chapter 2 – Algorithm Complexity (Big O) → Spend ~1.5 hours

Focus on O(1), O(log N), O(N), O(N log N), O(N²) complexity.
Understand binary search vs. brute force.

📖 Chapter 3 – Arrays & Linked Lists → Spend ~2 hours

Know how ArrayLists work internally.
Understand singly vs. doubly linked lists and common operations (insert, delete).

📖 Chapter 6 – Stacks & Queues → Spend ~1.5 hours

Learn LIFO (Stack) and FIFO (Queue) behaviors.
Skim implementation details (linked list vs. array-backed stacks).

📖 Chapter 12 – HashMaps & Heaps → Spend ~2.5 hours

Know how hash tables work (collision handling, load factor).
Understand MinHeap/MaxHeap and PriorityQueue (Java).

📖 Chapter 4, 5, 8 – Trees, BSTs, Graphs → Spend ~3 hours

Learn Binary Search Trees (BST) operations.
Know DFS vs. BFS and their use cases.
Ignore advanced tree balancing (AVL, Red-Black trees). Amazon won’t ask you to implement them.

Total Time Spent: ~10 hours max (instead of weeks of reading)

⏳ Instead of days of reading theory, just get what you need and move on to LeetCode.

Your New Optimized Plan (Mix Weiss + LeetCode)

Week 1 – Hybrid Approach (Theory + Problems)

Day	Topic	Weiss Chapters	LeetCode Problems
Day 1	Complexity + Arrays	Ch. 2, 3 (Skim)	Two Sum, Merge Intervals
Day 2	Linked Lists	Ch. 3	Reverse Linked List, Detect Cycle
Day 3	Stacks & Queues	Ch. 6	Valid Parentheses, Min Stack
Day 4	HashMaps & Heaps	Ch. 12	Top K Frequent Elements, LRU Cache
Day 5	Trees (BST, DFS/BFS)	Ch. 4, 5	Invert Binary Tree, Level Order Traversal
Day 6	Graphs (DFS/BFS)	Ch. 8	Number of Islands, Course Schedule
Day 7	Mock OA	No reading	Timed LeetCode contest

Week 2 – Deep Practice

No more Weiss. Just mock OAs & targeted LeetCode drills.
Focus on solving fast under time pressure.

Final Verdict – Should You Read Weiss?

✅ Yes, but only the necessary chapters (~10 hours total max).
🚀 Speed up your prep by immediately practicing after reading.
❌ Don’t waste time on deep textbook reading—Amazon won’t test obscure DSA concepts.

Alternative: If you prefer video explanations, replace Weiss with NeetCode + GeeksforGeeks + LeetCode discussions for faster learning.

Would you like a more detailed problem list for your LeetCode prep?