Chapter 144: Master Table of Contents

Encyclopedia-Style Book Index

This chapter provides a comprehensive, navigable table of contents for the entire book. Use it to find topics by volume, difficulty, interview relevance, or estimated reading time.

How to Use This Index

By Volume: Browse by topic area (Foundations, Data Structures, Algorithms, etc.)
By Difficulty: Filter by Easy / Medium / Hard
By Interview Relevance: Stars indicate how frequently a topic appears in interviews (★★★★★ = very common)
By Reading Time: Plan your study sessions using estimated reading times

Tip: For a quick interview refresher, focus on chapters with ★★★★★ and reading time ≤ 45 min first.

Volume 1 — Foundations (Ch 1–7)

These chapters build the mathematical and conceptual foundation for everything else.

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
1	How to Use This Book	Easy	★★★★★	20 min
2	Mathematical Foundations	Medium	★★★★★	90 min
3	Complexity Analysis	Medium	★★★★★	60 min
4	Arrays and Strings	Easy	★★★★★	60 min
5	Sorting	Medium	★★★★★	90 min
6	Searching	Medium	★★★★★	60 min
7	Hashing	Medium	★★★★	60 min

Key topics: Big-O notation, modular arithmetic, counting principles, array manipulation, comparison-based sorting, binary search, hash functions, collision resolution.

Volume 2 — Core Data Structures (Ch 8–21)

The essential data structures every programmer must know, from basic to advanced.

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
8	Recursion	Medium	★★★★★	60 min
9	Backtracking	Medium	★★★★	60 min
10	Stacks	Easy	★★★★	45 min
11	Queues	Easy	★★★	45 min
12	Linked Lists	Medium	★★★★	60 min
13	Trees	Medium	★★★★★	60 min
14	Binary Search Trees	Medium	★★★★	90 min
15	Heaps	Medium	★★★★	60 min
16	Trie	Medium	★★★★	60 min
17	Disjoint Set Union	Medium	★★★★	45 min
18	Segment Tree	Hard	★★★★	90 min
19	Fenwick Tree	Medium	★★★	45 min
20	Sparse Table	Medium	★★★	45 min
21	Binary Lifting & LCA	Medium	★★★★	60 min

Key topics: Recursive thinking, permutation generation, LIFO/FIFO semantics, pointer manipulation, tree traversals, balanced BSTs, priority queues, prefix trees, union-by-rank, range queries, binary lifting.

Volume 3 — Core Algorithms (Ch 22–39)

Graph algorithms, dynamic programming, and the most important algorithmic paradigms.

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
22	Graph Fundamentals	Easy	★★★★	45 min
23	DFS	Medium	★★★★★	45 min
24	BFS	Medium	★★★★★	45 min
25	Topological Sort	Medium	★★★★	30 min
26	Shortest Paths	Medium	★★★★	60 min
27	MST	Medium	★★★	45 min
28	Advanced Graphs	Hard	★★★	60 min
29	Network Flow	Hard	★★	60 min
30	DP Fundamentals	Medium	★★★★★	60 min
31	DP Patterns	Medium	★★★★★	90 min
32	Greedy	Medium	★★★★	45 min
33	Bit Manipulation	Medium	★★★	45 min
34	Two Pointers	Easy	★★★★	30 min
35	Sliding Window	Easy	★★★★	30 min
36	Prefix Sum & Diff Array	Easy	★★★★	30 min
37	Monotonic Stack	Medium	★★★	30 min
38	Monotonic Queue	Medium	★★★	30 min
39	Divide and Conquer	Medium	★★★	45 min

Key topics: Graph representations, cycle detection, Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, Floyd-Warshall, Kruskal, Prim, max-flow, memoization, tabulation, knapsack variants, greedy proofs, XOR tricks, two-pointer technique, sliding window, prefix sums, next greater element, divide-and-conquer recurrences.

Volume 4 — String Algorithms (Ch 40–46, 87–88, 119–123, 164)

Everything about string processing, from basic pattern matching to advanced suffix structures.

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
40	Rolling Hash	Medium	★★★★	30 min
41	KMP	Medium	★★★	45 min
42	Z Algorithm	Medium	★★★	30 min
43	Trie Applications	Medium	★★★★	45 min
44	Suffix Array	Hard	★★★	60 min
45	Suffix Automaton	Hard	★★	60 min
46	Aho-Corasick	Hard	★★	45 min
87	Suffix Tree	Hard	★★	45 min
88	Palindromic Tree	Hard	★★	30 min
119	Manacher	Medium	★★★	30 min
120	BWT/FM-Index	Hard	★	30 min
121	Lyndon Factorization	Hard	★	20 min
122	Edit Distance Variants	Medium	★★★★	30 min
123	Regex/Wildcard Matching	Medium	★★★	30 min
164	Advanced String Processing	Hard	★★	45 min

Key topics: Hash-based matching, failure functions, Z-values, suffix structures, automata, palindromes, Burrows-Wheeler transform, edit distance, regex engines, Lyndon words.

Volume 5 — Interview Preparation (Ch 47–53, 66, 97, 138–143)

Practical interview skills, problem-solving frameworks, and quick-reference handbooks.

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
47	Problem Solving	Medium	★★★★★	30 min
48	Technical Communication	Easy	★★★★	20 min
49	Behavioral	Easy	★★★★	30 min
50	Mock Interviews	Medium	★★★★★	30 min
51	Computational Thinking	Medium	★★★★	30 min
52	Memory & Hardware	Medium	★★★	30 min
53	C++ for Interviews	Medium	★★★★	45 min
66	Interview Engineering	Medium	★★★★★	45 min
97	Pattern Recognition	Medium	★★★★★	30 min
138	Formula Handbook	—	★★★★	Reference
139	Complexity Handbook	—	★★★★	Reference
140	Algorithm Selection	—	★★★★	Reference
141	DS Selection	—	★★★★	Reference
142	Company Handbook	—	★★★★	Reference
143	Knowledge Aids	—	★★★★	Reference

Key topics: Problem decomposition, STAR method, system design basics, pattern matching, formula sheets, complexity cheat sheets, company-specific preparation.

Volume 6 — Advanced Topics (Ch 54–65, 67–96, 98–137)

Deep dives into specialized algorithms, advanced data structures, and engineering topics.

Arrays, Strings & Lists (Ch 54–58)

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
54	Advanced Array Techniques	Medium	★★★★	45 min
55	Advanced String Techniques	Medium	★★★	45 min
56	Advanced Linked List	Medium	★★★★	45 min
57	Balanced BSTs (Treap, etc.)	Hard	★★★	60 min
58	Skip Lists	Medium	★★	30 min

Trees & Graphs (Ch 59–65, 81–84)

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
59	Advanced Tree Techniques	Hard	★★★	60 min
60	Tree DP	Medium	★★★★	45 min
61	Rerooting	Medium	★★★	45 min
62	HLD	Hard	★★★	60 min
63	Centroid Decomposition	Hard	★★	45 min
64	Euler Tour	Medium	★★★	30 min
65	A* Search	Medium	★★	30 min
81	Strongly Connected Components	Medium	★★★	45 min
82	Shortest Path Algorithms	Hard	★★★★	60 min
83	Max Flow Algorithms	Hard	★★	60 min
84	Bipartite Matching	Medium	★★★	45 min

DP Optimization (Ch 85–86)

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
85	Digit DP	Hard	★★★	45 min
86	DP Optimization	Hard	★★★	60 min

CS Foundations (Ch 67–70)

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
67	Number Theory	Medium	★★★	60 min
68	Combinatorics	Medium	★★★	45 min
69	Probability	Medium	★★★	45 min
70	Linear Algebra	Medium	★★	45 min

Advanced Data Structures (Ch 74–80)

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
74	Skip List	Medium	★★	30 min
75	Splay Tree	Hard	★★	45 min
76	Red-Black Tree	Hard	★★	45 min
77	B-Tree	Medium	★★★	45 min
78	KD Tree	Medium	★★	45 min
79	Persistent Data Structures	Hard	★★	45 min
80	Bloom Filter	Medium	★★★	30 min

Engineering (Ch 89–92)

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
89	Caching & LRU	Medium	★★★★	30 min
90	Concurrency	Medium	★★★	45 min
91	Memory Management	Medium	★★★	30 min
92	System Design Patterns	Medium	★★★★	60 min

Advanced Techniques (Ch 93–96, 98–137)

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
93	Mo’s Algorithm	Hard	★★	30 min
94	Square Root Decomposition	Medium	★★★	30 min
95	Offline Algorithms	Hard	★★	30 min
96	Randomized Algorithms	Medium	★★★	45 min
98	Splay Tree Applications	Hard	★★	30 min
99	Link-Cut Tree	Hard	★★	45 min
100	Van Emde Boas Tree	Hard	★	30 min
101–137	Specialized Topics	Hard	★★–★★★	Various

Volume 7 — Graduate Algorithms (Ch 145–170)

Cutting-edge algorithms for advanced study, research, and specialized interviews.

Ch	Title	Difficulty	Interview	Reading
145	Approximation Algorithms	Hard	★★	60 min
146	Online Algorithms	Hard	★★	45 min
147	Streaming Algorithms	Hard	★★	60 min
148	Parameterized Algorithms	Hard	★	60 min
149	Exact Exponential Algorithms	Hard	★	45 min
150	Advanced Randomized Algorithms	Hard	★★	60 min
151	Linear Programming	Hard	★★	60 min
152	Integer Programming & Duality	Hard	★	45 min
153	Advanced Optimization	Hard	★	60 min
154	Spectral Graph Theory	Hard	★	45 min
155	Advanced Graph Theory	Hard	★	60 min
156	Dynamic Graph Algorithms	Hard	★	45 min
157	Link-Cut Trees & Euler Tour Trees	Hard	★★	60 min
158	Succinct Data Structures	Hard	★	45 min
159	External Memory Algorithms	Hard	★	45 min
160	Parallel Algorithms	Hard	★	45 min
161	Advanced Computational Geometry	Hard	★	45 min
162	Algorithmic Game Theory	Hard	★★	45 min
163	Advanced Mathematics	Hard	★	60 min
164	Advanced String Processing	Hard	★	45 min
165	Modern Research Topics	Hard	★	60 min

Appendices & Reference (Ch 138–144, 166–170)

Ch	Title	Type	Reading
138	Formula Handbook	Reference	As needed
139	Complexity Handbook	Reference	As needed
140	Algorithm Selection Guide	Reference	As needed
141	Data Structure Selection Guide	Reference	As needed
142	Company Handbook	Reference	As needed
143	Knowledge Aids	Reference	As needed
144	Master Table of Contents	Navigation	As needed
166	Master Indexes	Reference	As needed
167	Glossary	Reference	As needed
168	Bibliography	Reference	As needed
169	About the Author	Meta	5 min
170	Contributing	Meta	5 min

Statistics

Metric	Value
Total Chapters	170
Volumes	7
Easy Chapters	~25
Medium Chapters	~90
Hard Chapters	~55
Reference/Appendices	~15
Total Estimated Reading	~200+ hours
Interview-Critical (★★★★★)	~15 chapters
Interview-Common (★★★★)	~30 chapters

Suggested Study Paths

Path A: Interview Crash Course (2–3 weeks)

Focus on ★★★★★ chapters only:

Ch 3 (Complexity) → Ch 4 (Arrays) → Ch 5 (Sorting) → Ch 6 (Searching) → Ch 7 (Hashing)
Ch 8 (Recursion) → Ch 13 (Trees) → Ch 15 (Heaps)
Ch 23 (DFS) → Ch 24 (BFS) → Ch 30 (DP) → Ch 31 (DP Patterns)
Ch 34 (Two Pointers) → Ch 35 (Sliding Window) → Ch 97 (Pattern Recognition)
Ch 47 (Problem Solving) → Ch 66 (Interview Engineering)

Algorithm Selection: Chapter 140
Data Structure Selection: Chapter 141
Complexity Quick Reference: Chapter 139
Pattern Recognition: Chapter 97
Master Indexes: Chapter 166
Formula Handbook: Chapter 138

Placement Preparation Knowledge Base