Backtracking
Build candidates one choice at a time, undo the latest choice at a dead end — "generate all" and constraint puzzles.
This topic is part of Pro.
Free covers the C and Python courses, the first three DSA topics, the opening system design lessons and the beginner AI lessons, all with the full coach. Pro opens the rest of the library in the FollowtheDamnCode app.
What is in it
- 1Choose, explore, unchooseThe one template behind every backtracking solution, and the decision tree it walks. Pro
- 2Subsets and combinationsPass a start index so each element is only considered after the ones before it — no duplicates by construction. Pro
- 3PermutationsOrder matters — every unused element is an option at every position, tracked with a used array. Pro
- 4Constraint search (N-Queens, Word Search)Place one piece at a time, check constraints in O(1) with sets, and prune the moment a rule breaks. Pro