## A crack at Dynamic Programming

Dynamic Programming is a discrete optimization technique. It means, the variables we want to calculate using this method are discrete. As an example, if x is one such variable then $x\in\{1,2,3,4\}$ is acceptable, but ‘x is a real number between 0 and 1′ is NOT acceptable since there are infinitely many real numbers between 0 and 1. In math terms, we can say that the domain of the variable x is a countable set.

Problems that are solved by dynamic programming are recursive nature. Let’s look at the problem that ask us to calculate the sum up to a number, i.e., if $f_s$ is such a function then $f_s(5)=0+1+2+3+4+5$. The recursive definition (assuming i is non negative) is following:

$f_{s}(i)=\begin{cases}0 & ,i=0\\i+f_{s}(i-1) & ,i\geq1\end{cases}$

## Legends of the C Pointers

When people ask me what my first language is, I sometimes playfully answer, “C”. C taught me what it meant to be a programmer. Few days back when I decided to start hacking the linux kernel again, I realized how much I miss programming in C. Playing with the pointers was undoubtedly the best part! So, I thought I would write this post.

If you have irrational fear of pointers or preparing for a C interview or just want to have fun, you should read this post! I am assuming you know the basics of pointers, but just cannot get a total hold on them.

I will start by stating a quote by Joel Spolsky:

I don’t care how much you know about continuations and closures and exception handling: if you can’t explain why while(*s++ = *t++); copies a string, or if that isn’t the most natural thing in the world to you, well, you’re programming based on superstition, as far as I’m concerned: a medical doctor who doesn’t know basic anatomy, passing out prescriptions based on what the pharma sales babe said would work.

## The beauty of Linked Lists

Linked list is one of the simplest but most popular datastructures, perhaps because good linked list problems can be solved within 15-20 minutes. Linked list problems are interesting, fun, thought provoking, and easy to describe, which is why they are very common in a programming interview. Microsoft loves asking linked list questions, I mean, you WILL get at least one linked list question if you ever interview with Microsoft!

Wikipedia defines, “a linked list is a data structure consisting of a group of nodes that together represent a sequence”. So, a typical linked list node will have a reference to the next node and a data field. This is called a singly linked list. Therefore, the first node (commonly known as the head) can represent the entire linked list, since one can traverse all the nodes from head by using the next reference. The Java code for the traversal of a linked list is below: Continue reading