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Fundamentals

The ideas every other series builds on. Learn how to reason about cost, growth and scalability before choosing a data structure or an algorithm.

Before the structures

Data structures and algorithms are easier to understand once you have a way to compare them. This category collects that groundwork: the concepts the other series lean on constantly, explained once, so the rest can focus on what makes each structure different.

What you'll find here

  • How to describe the cost of an algorithm as its input grows
  • Time and space as two separate budgets
  • Why the worst case is the one worth measuring
1 article
Fundamentals01 / 01

Big O Notation

Learn how Big O describes the way an algorithm's cost grows with its input. Explore time and space complexity, the worst case, and every common class from O(1) to O(n!).

20 minutes read