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Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

lanki.xyz

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Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#21

Post by aster0id »

cubemaster wrote: post #20
aster0id wrote: post #17

Just fyi for the dev - on mobile, the slide in menu that opens on clicking the burger icon on the top right is empty. Cool idea btw. What do you think about incorporating the "patterns" associated with problems into the repetition algorithm? For example, if I find 2 pointer problems hard, then the next 2 pointer problem will be recommended sooner.

yes, was thinking of adding this in! will start adding possible features here: https://alpine-aspen-2ab.notion.site/Lanki-da1481129bfa4d3ca...

I can totally see what you're solving for - the friction of switching between an anki deck and leetcode to achieve the same thing with existing tools.

If you want one data point about how I prepare for coding interviews - I just solve Neetcode's list and the blind 75 list (minus the overlap between the two). For reference I got 5 offers in quick succession after being laid off in early 2023.

Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#22

Post by mardef »

reddit_clone wrote: post #19
xzel wrote: post #10

I'm about to start the leet code grind for interviews coming up and I'll give this a shot. I found your feedback form on your website but would be nice to post it in your post here as well. Cheers.

I keep hearing this. What exactly does 'leetcode grind' mean? I take it you solve puzzles by writing code. How does it help with job interviews really?

Many engineering interviews include literal "solve this problem on leetcode" sections.

Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#23

Post by linguae »

reddit_clone wrote: post #19
xzel wrote: post #10

I'm about to start the leet code grind for interviews coming up and I'll give this a shot. I found your feedback form on your website but would be nice to post it in your post here as well. Cheers.

I keep hearing this. What exactly does 'leetcode grind' mean? I take it you solve puzzles by writing code. How does it help with job interviews really?

“Leetcode grind” means solving Leetcode problems. Interviewing for many software engineering positions in Silicon Valley these days require doing well on Leetcode-style coding exercises where one has a limited amount of time to solve a problem.

What makes software engineering interviews a grind these days is that many employers don’t care about your thinking process; they want an optimal solution to the problem within the time limit without errors, since chances are high that an applicant will come up with the optimal solution. In addition, the high compensation for many Silicon Valley employers has made these positions very desirable and thus ultra-competitive. The same type of applicants who grinded for high SAT and AP scores in high school and who grinded in college for 3.7+ GPAs don’t feel discouraged grinding some more for a six-figure job with life-changing amounts of RSUs once vested and other perks. You can grind hard, but chances are high that somebody else spent even more time studying than you. These types of interviews are similar in spirit to the employment exams that some companies have in Japan during job-hunting season for upper-level college students.

So, aiming for a FAANG position, as well as software engineering positions at many other companies in Silicon Valley, essentially require studying not unlike preparing for a GRE subject test for graduate school admissions.

Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#25

Post by mrg3_2013 »

I continue to get puzzled with leetcode type things. Will coding exercises like this become obsolete someday or will the old guards continue to push for such things to be used during interviews? Today coding Copilots can easily replace leetcode "winners"

Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#27

Post by DelightOne »

mrg3_2013 wrote: post #25

I continue to get puzzled with leetcode type things. Will coding exercises like this become obsolete someday or will the old guards continue to push for such things to be used during interviews? Today coding Copilots can easily replace leetcode "winners"

The problem starts when its a new problem.

Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#28

Post by mrg3_2013 »

DelightOne wrote: post #27
mrg3_2013 wrote: post #25

I continue to get puzzled with leetcode type things. Will coding exercises like this become obsolete someday or will the old guards continue to push for such things to be used during interviews? Today coding Copilots can easily replace leetcode "winners"

The problem starts when its a new problem.

Not sure what you meant. Leetcode type things solves a problem of past. Future will be copilots doing lot of grunt coding work and human value add would be instructing copilots the right way, bringing broader contextual information. Solving binary search tree problems during interviews will eventually go away (once old guards go away)

Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#29

Post by DelightOne »

mrg3_2013 wrote: post #28
DelightOne wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem starts when its a new problem.

Not sure what you meant. Leetcode type things solves a problem of past. Future will be copilots doing lot of grunt coding work and human value add would be instructing copilots the right way, bringing broader contextual information. Solving binary search tree problems during interviews will eventually go away (once old guards go away)

We agree, solving binary search tree problems do not need solving. That's an old problem. Problem is if you need people to choose and adapt algorithms for a specific new problem, copilot will have a hard time and so you will have a hard time if you don't know how the algorithms work and never adapted one. Because copilots are not good at choosing the correct algorithm and adapting it for new problems, as far as my experience with the competitive programming course I took goes anyway.

If you have an old problem, copilot can solve it, true.

Re: Show HN: I made a spaced repetition tool to master coding problems

#30

Post by personjerry »

I feel like spaced repetition is exactly what you shouldn't do. Spaced repetition is great for rote memorization of arbitrary facts but programming is about how to think about and solve problems.

If you master the methods and ideas, you should be able to derive the answers on the spot. That's better than memorization because then you can actually deal with real interviewers who 1) Want to hear your train of thought and 2) Will give you random changes or variants to problems.

It's not about memorizing solutions, because in reality when are you ever going to reverse a linked list or balance a red-black tree? No, so if you're going to put in the effort anyway, you should learn the concepts and understand when to apply them so your knowledge is actually applicable. This will actually make you a better programmer, and you'll do better with the interviews that are actually good (I speak with experience giving interviews at FB).

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