# SDE Interview and Prep Roadmap > This repository is not just about my personal journey; it's a collaborative space for collective learning. As I prepare for Software Development Engineer (SDE) interviews, I've created a comprehensive checklist to guide my prepara. Use it as a repeatable review, validation or hardening pass. > Editorial note: curated source snapshot published by [Collider.club](https://collider.club) under the MIT License. Source attribution is preserved in the front matter. ## Source snapshot # SDE Interview and Prep Roadmap ## Overview Welcome to the SDE Interview Preparation Roadmap! This repository is not just about my personal journey; it's a collaborative space for collective learning. As I prepare for Software Development Engineer (SDE) interviews, I've created a comprehensive checklist to guide my preparation. By sharing this roadmap, I aim to foster a community of learners where we can all grow together. It covers various domains including **Data Structures, Algorithms, System Design, Operating Systems, Networking, Databases, Programming Languages and Concepts, System Architecture, Problem-solving and Coding, as well as Behavioral and Soft Skills**. ## Printable PDF Version of Checklist - [Click Here](/SDE-Interview-and-Prep-Roadmap.pdf) ## **Domains and Topics**
1. Data Structures - [ ] [**Arrays**](./Data%20Structures/Arrays.md) - [ ] [**Linked Lists**](./Data%20Structures/LinkedList.md) - [ ] Singly linked lists - [ ] Circularly linked lists - [ ] Lock-free linked lists - [ ] Doubly linked lists - [ ] Circular doubly linked lists - [ ] Circular linked lists - [ ] Skip lists - [ ] Unrolled linked lists - [ ] **Stacks** - [ ] Implementations using arrays and linked lists - [ ] Array-based stack - [ ] Linked list-based stack - [ ] Applications (e.g., expression evaluation, backtracking) - [ ] Priority stacks - [ ] **Queues** - [ ] Implementations (e.g., array-based, linked list-based, priority queues) - [ ] Circular queue - [ ] Double-ended queue (Deque) - [ ] Applications (e.g., BFS, job scheduling) - [ ] **Trees** - [ ] Binary Trees - [ ] Full binary tree - [ ] Complete binary tree - [ ] Perfect binary tree - [ ] Binary Search Trees (BST) - [ ] Self-balancing BST - [ ] Scapegoat tree - [ ] Tango tree - [ ] AVL Trees - [ ] Red-Black Trees - [ ] Splay Trees - [ ] B-Trees - [ ] Heap Trees (min-heap, max-heap) - [ ] Trie - [ ] Radix Trees - [ ] **Graphs** - [ ] Representations (adjacency matrix, adjacency list) - [ ] Edge list - [ ] Incidence matrix - [ ] Traversal algorithms (DFS, BFS) - [ ] Weighted graphs - [ ] Directed graphs - [ ] Acyclic graphs - [ ] Bipartite graphs - [ ] Spanning trees (Minimum Spanning Tree, Maximum Spanning Tree) - [ ] Graphs with special properties (e.g., planar graphs, Eulerian graphs) - [ ] **Hash Tables** - [ ] Collision resolution techniques (chaining, open addressing) - [ ] Hash functions - [ ] Perfect Hashing - [ ] Cuckoo Hashing - [ ] Robin Hood Hashing - [ ] Count-Min Sketch - [ ] Bloom Filters
2. Algorithms - [ ] **Sorting Algorithms**: - [ ] Bubble Sort - [ ] Selection Sort - [ ] Insertion Sort - [ ] Merge Sort - [ ] Quick Sort - [ ] Heap Sort - [ ] Shell Sort - [ ] Counting Sort - [ ] Radix Sort - [ ] Bucket Sort - [ ] Comb Sort - [ ] Cocktail Shaker Sort - [ ] Tim Sort - [ ] Cycle Sort - [ ] Pancake Sort - [ ] Bitonic Sort - [ ] Gnome Sort - [ ] Strand Sort - [ ] **Searching Algorithms**: - [ ] Linear Search - [ ] Binary Search - [ ] Depth-First Search (DFS) - [ ] Breadth-First Search (BFS) - [ ] Jump Search - [ ] Interpolation Search - [ ] Exponential Search - [ ] Fibonacci Search - [ ] Ternary Search - [ ] Hashing (Hash Table) - [ ] **Dynamic Programming** - [ ] Memoization - [ ] Tabulation - [ ] Longest Common Subsequence (LCS) - [ ] Longest Increasing Subsequence (LIS) - [ ] 0/1 Knapsack Problem - [ ] Coin Change Problem - [ ] Matrix Chain Multiplication - [ ] Edit Distance - [ ] Subset Sum Problem - [ ] Rod Cutting Problem - [ ] Fibonacci Series - [ ] Shortest Path Problems (e.g., Dijkstra's Algorithm using DP) - [ ] **Greedy Algorithms** - [ ] Fractional Knapsack Problem - [ ] Activity Selection Problem - [ ] Huffman Coding - [ ] Job Sequencing with Deadlines - [ ] Prim's Algorithm (for Minimum Spanning Tree) - [ ] Kruskal's Algorithm (for Minimum Spanning Tree) - [ ] Dijkstra's Algorithm (for Single Source Shortest Path) - [ ] Greedy Coloring of Graphs - [ ] Greedy Set Cover - [ ] **Divide and Conquer** - [ ] Binary Search - [ ] Merge Sort - [ ] Quick Sort - [ ] Strassen's Matrix Multiplication - [ ] Closest Pair of Points Problem - [ ] Karatsuba Algorithm (for Fast Multiplication) - [ ] Cooley–Tukey Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) - [ ] Finding Maximum Subarray Sum (Kadane's Algorithm) - [ ] Finding Peak Element in 1D/2D Array - [ ] **String Algorithms**: - [ ] Rabin-Karp Algorithm - [ ] Knuth-Morris-Pratt (KMP) Algorithm - [ ] Z-Algorithm - [ ] Boyer-Moore Algorithm - [ ] Manacher's Algorithm - [ ] Suffix Array Construction - [ ] Longest Common Prefix (LCP) Array - [ ] Aho-Corasick Algorithm - [ ] Suffix Tree Construction - [ ] Suffix Automaton - [ ] Trie (Prefix Tree) Insertion and Search - [ ] Breadth-First Search (BFS) in a Trie - [ ] Depth-First Search (DFS) in a Trie - [ ] Edit Distance (Levenshtein Distance) - [ ] Hamming Distance - [ ] Longest Palindromic Substring - [ ] Longest Repeated Substring - [ ] Longest Common Substring - [ ] Longest Common Subsequence - [ ] Shortest Common Supersequence - [ ] Palindrome Check - [ ] Count and Say Sequence - [ ] String Hashing - [ ] Baker-Bird Algorithm - [ ] Burrows-Wheeler Transform (BWT)
3. System Design - Resources: - [System Design Interview by Alex Xu](./System%20Design/Resources/System%20Design%20Interview%20by%20Alex%20Xu.pdf) - [Designing Data Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann](./System%20Design/Resources/Designing%20Data%20Intensive%20Applications%20by%20Martin%20Kleppmann.pdf) - [ ] **Design patterns** - [ ] **Creational patterns** - [ ] Singleton - [ ] Factory Method - [ ] Abstract Factory - [ ] Builder - [ ] Prototype - [ ] **Structural patterns** - [ ] Adapter - [ ] Bridge - [ ] Composite - [ ] Decorator - [ ] Facade - [ ] Flyweight - [ ] Proxy - [ ] **Behavioral patterns** - [ ] Chain of Responsibility - [ ] Command - [ ] Iterator - [ ] Mediator - [ ] Memento - [ ] Observer - [ ] State - [ ] Strategy - [ ] Template Method - [ ] Visitor - [ ] **Object-oriented design principles** - [ ] DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) - [ ] KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) - [ ] YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It) - [ ] Law of Demeter (Principle of Least Knowledge) - [ ] Open/Closed Principle - [ ] SOLID principles - [ ] Single Responsibility Principle (SRP) - [ ] Open/Closed Principle (OCP) - [ ] Liskov Substitution Principle (LSP) - [ ] Interface Segregation Principle (ISP) - [ ] Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP) - [ ] **Scalability** - [ ] Replication vs. Partitioning - [ ] Consistent Hashing - [ ] Auto-scaling - [ ] **Distributed systems** - [ ] ACID vs. BASE - [ ] Eventual consistency - [ ] Leader election algorithms (Paxos, Raft) - [ ] Distributed tracing - [ ] Fault tolerance and resilience - [ ] **Microservices architecture** - [ ] Choreography vs. Orchestration - [ ] API gateway - [ ] Circuit Breaker pattern - [ ] Saga pattern - [ ] Caching strategies - [ ] Cache aside - [ ] Write-through caching - [ ] Write-behind caching - [ ] Cache stampede prevention - [ ] Load balancing - [ ] DNS load balancing - [ ] Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) - [ ] Anycast routing - [ ] Adaptive load balancing algorithms - [ ] **Database design and optimization** - [ ] Partitioning - [ ] Materialized views - [ ] NoSQL databases (document, key-value, column-family, graph) - [ ] Database normalization forms (1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF)
4. Operating Systems - [ ] **Processes** - [ ] **Threads** - [ ] **Thread synchronization mechanisms**: - [ ] Mutexes - [ ] Semaphores - [ ] Monitors - [ ] **Deadlock detection and prevention** - [ ] **Scheduling algorithms** - [ ] Fair share scheduling - [ ] Earliest Deadline First (EDF) - [ ] Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ) - [ ] **Memory management** - [ ] Page replacement algorithms (LRU, FIFO, Clock) - [ ] Memory-mapped files - [ ] Buddy memory allocation - [ ] **File systems** - [ ] Journaling file systems (ext3, ext4) - [ ] Network file systems (NFS, SMB) - [ ] File system encryption - [ ] Distributed file systems (HDFS, Ceph)
5. Networking - [ ] **TCP/IP stack** - [ ] OSI model layers - [ ] TCP vs. UDP - [ ] **HTTP protocol** - [ ] Request methods (GET, POST, etc.) - [ ] Status codes - [ ] **DNS (Domain Name System)** - [ ] Resolution process - [ ] **Routing algorithms** - [ ] Shortest Path algorithms (Dijkstra's, Bellman-Ford)
6. Databases - [ ] **Relational databases (SQL)** - [ ] Normalization forms - [ ] First Normal Form (1NF) - [ ] Second Normal Form (2NF) - [ ] Third Normal Form (3NF) - [ ] Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF) - [ ] Joins - [ ] Inner joins - [ ] Outer joins (left, right, full) - [ ] Cross joins - [ ] SQL Data Manipulation Language (DML) - [ ] SELECT statement - [ ] INSERT statement - [ ] UPDATE statement - [ ] DELETE statement - [ ] MERGE statement - [ ] TRUNCATE statement - [ ] UPSERT operations - [ ] Explicit vs. Implicit transactions - [ ] Control-of-flow language (e.g., CASE, IF-ELSE) - [ ] SQL Data Definition Language (DDL) - [ ] CREATE statement - [ ] ALTER statement - [ ] DROP statement - [ ] SQL Data Control Language (DCL) - [ ] GRANT statement - [ ] REVOKE statement - [ ] SQL Data Query Language (DQL) - [ ] Subqueries - [ ] Aggregate functions (e.g., SUM, AVG, COUNT) - [ ] GROUP BY and HAVING clauses - [ ] Window functions - [ ] Transaction Control - [ ] COMMIT statement - [ ] ROLLBACK statement - [ ] Database Constraints - [ ] Primary key - [ ] Foreign key - [ ] Unique constraint - [ ] Check constraint - [ ] Default constraint - [ ] Stored Procedures and Functions - [ ] Creation - [ ] Execution - [ ] Parameters - [ ] Triggers - [ ] Types of triggers (BEFORE, AFTER) - [ ] Trigger execution order - [ ] Views - [ ] Materialized views vs. regular views - [ ] Advantages and use cases - [ ] **NoSQL databases** - [ ] Types - [ ] Document-based - [ ] Key-value - [ ] Column-family - [ ] Graph - [ ] Examples - [ ] MongoDB Interview Questions - [ ] Redis Interview Questions - [ ] **ACID properties** - [ ] Atomicity - [ ] Consistency - [ ] Isolation - [ ] Durability - [ ] **Indexing** - [ ] B-tree - [ ] B+ tree - [ ] Bitmap Indexing - [ ] **Transactions** - [ ] ACID properties in transactions - [ ] Isolation levels - [ ] Read Uncommitted - [ ] Read Committed - [ ] Repeatable Read - [ ] Serializable - [ ] **Database design and optimization** - [ ] Partitioning - [ ] Materialized views
7. Programming Languages and Concepts - [ ] **Programming paradigms** - [ ] Imperative programming - [ ] Declarative programming - [ ] Functional programming - [ ] Object-oriented programming - [ ] Procedural programming - [ ] Event-driven programming - [ ] Aspect-oriented programming - [ ] **Memory management** - [ ] Stack vs. Heap - [ ] Manual vs. Automatic memory management - [ ] Garbage collection algorithms (e.g., Mark and Sweep, Generational GC) - [ ] **Concurrency** - [ ] Threads vs. Processes - [ ] Synchronization primitives (locks, mutexes, semaphores) - [ ] Thread safety - [ ] Deadlocks - [ ] Race conditions - [ ] Parallelism vs. Concurrency - [ ] Asynchronous programming - [ ] **Error handling** - [ ] Exceptions vs. Error codes - [ ] Exception handling mechanisms - [ ] Exception safety - [ ] Error propagation - [ ] Error recovery - [ ] **Functional programming** - [ ] Higher-order functions - [ ] Closures - [ ] Lambda expressions - [ ] Pure functions - [ ] Referential transparency - [ ] **Object-oriented programming (OOP)** - [ ] Encapsulation - [ ] Inheritance - [ ] Polymorphism - [ ] Abstraction - [ ] Composition vs. Inheritance - [ ] Method overriding vs. Method overloading - [ ] **Design patterns** - [ ] Creational patterns - [ ] Structural patterns - [ ] Behavioral patterns - [ ] **Asynchronous programming** - [ ] Callbacks - [ ] Promises - [ ] Futures - [ ] Coroutines - [ ] **Functional vs. Imperative vs. Declarative programming** - [ ] **Type systems** - [ ] Static vs. Dynamic typing - [ ] Strong vs. Weak typing - [ ] Nominal vs. Structural typing - [ ] **Lambda calculus** - [ ] **Garbage collection** - [ ] Tracing vs. Reference counting - [ ] Generational GC - [ ] **Regular expressions** - [ ] **Memory layout** - [ ] Stack vs. Heap memory allocation - [ ] Data segment vs. Code segment - [ ] **Recursion** - [ ] Tail recursion - [ ] Mutual recursion - [ ] Anonymous recursion - [ ] **Virtual Memory** - [ ] Demand Paging - [ ] Page replacement algorithms (FIFO, LRU, Optimal) - [ ] **Networking** - [ ] Sockets - [ ] Client-server architecture - [ ] Protocols (TCP, UDP) - [ ] Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
8. System Architecture - [ ] **Client-server architecture** - [ ] Basics - [ ] Communication protocols - [ ] [**RESTful architecture**](./System%20Design/RESTfulArchitecture.md) - [ ] **Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)** - [ ] Principles - [ ] Advantages - [ ] Challenges - [ ] **Message Queuing** - [ ] Basics - [ ] Use cases - [ ] Implementations (e.g., RabbitMQ, Kafka) - [ ] [**Microservices**](./System%20Design/Microservices.md) - [ ] **Event-Driven Architecture (EDA)** - [ ] Basics - [ ] Components - [ ] Advantages - [ ] Implementations (e.g., Apache Kafka) - [ ] **Layered Architecture** - [ ] Presentation layer - [ ] Business logic layer - [ ] Data access layer - [ ] Cross-cutting concerns layer - [ ] **Caching strategies** - [ ] Cache aside - [ ] Write-through caching - [ ] Write-behind caching - [ ] Cache stampede prevention
9. Problem-solving and Coding - [ ] **Problem-solving strategies** - [ ] Understand the problem - [ ] Break it down - [ ] Solve a simpler problem - [ ] Look for patterns - [ ] Make a plan - [ ] Implement the plan - [ ] Test your solution - [ ] **Coding techniques** - [ ] Modular programming - [ ] Divide and conquer - [ ] Recursion - [ ] Dynamic programming - [ ] Greedy algorithms - [ ] Backtracking - [ ] Bit manipulation - [ ] Sliding window - [ ] Two pointers - [ ] Binary search - [ ] Fast and slow pointers - [ ] Hashing - [ ] **Coding best practices** - [ ] Naming conventions - [ ] Code readability - [ ] Code reusability - [ ] Error handling - [ ] Testing - [ ] Version control (e.g., Git) - [ ] Code reviews - [ ] **Time and space complexity analysis** - [ ] Big O notation - [ ] Big Omega notation - [ ] Big Theta notation - [ ] Space complexity analysis - [ ] **Debugging** - [ ] Print debugging - [ ] Debugger tools - [ ] Rubber duck debugging - [ ] **Optimization** - [ ] Algorithmic optimization - [ ] Space-time trade-offs - [ ] Profiling tools
10. Version control System - [ ] [**Git**](./Version%20Control%20Systems/Git.md) - [ ] **Bitbucket**
## **Features** - **Structured Learning Path**: Follow a well-organized roadmap covering key domains such as **Data Structures**, **Algorithms**, **System Design**, **Operating Systems**, **Networking**, **Databases**, and more. - **Checklist-based Approach**: Track your progress systematically with checklist-style items for each topic, ensuring thorough coverage of concepts and practical skills. - **Recommended Resources**: Access curated lists of recommended resources, including books, online courses, coding platforms, articles, and practice problems to enhance your understanding and skills. - **Tailored Preparation**: Customize your preparation based on the specific requirements and focus areas of the companies you're interviewing with, maximizing your chances of success. - **Tips and Recommendations**: Benefit from valuable tips and recommendations for problem-solving, coding practice, behavioral and soft skills development, and adapting to different interview formats. ## **How to Use** 1. **Clone the Repository**: Clone this repository to your local machine using Git. 2. **Navigate to Domains**: Explore the `Domains` directory to find checklists for different domains/topics. 3. **Check Off Items**: As you study and practice, mark off checklist items to track your progress. 4. **Explore Resources**: Browse through the `Resources` directory for recommended resources corresponding to each domain/topic. 5. **Customize Your Plan**: Tailor your preparation plan based on your strengths, weaknesses, and the requirements of the companies you're targeting. 6. **Community Learning**: Engage with fellow learners, share insights, ask questions, and collaborate on improving the roadmap together. 7. **Stay Updated**: Periodically update your progress and revisit topics to reinforce your understanding and skills. ## **Contributions** Contributions are welcome! If you have suggestions for improving the roadmap, additional resources to recommend, or want to fix any errors, feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request. ## **Disclaimer** This roadmap is intended as a general guideline and may not cover every aspect of SDE interviews. It's essential to supplement my preparation with additional resources and adapt based on individual needs and experiences. ## **Credits** This project is inspired by various interview preparation resources and the collective wisdom of the developer community. --- ## About Collider.club This card belongs to the curated knowledge base of **[Collider.club](https://collider.club)** — a closed business club for entrepreneurs, engineers, investors and domain experts building projects for international markets. Members work across DeFi, AI/ML, FinTech, Web3, banking, hardware and venture capital, and the club runs closed sessions on high-margin niches with anonymous speakers. - Club: - Collection: Collider.club curated card library (`mdrss-card/v2`) - Maintainer: Collider.club editorial team ## License MIT License — Copyright (c) 2026 Collider.club. Full text: [LICENSE](../../LICENSE) ·