Elements of Programming Interviews
How is this book for getting up to speed with coding interviews (Besides Leetcoding)? I got the Python version since that’s my preferred language and I think it’s nice to have a book which focusses on the language you wish to use for interview. Anyone has used this book and can review it?
Just did first few chapters. The book is good for a structured study compared to solving random problems on LC. You will have to spend time going through lengthy explanations before the code, but I think it is worth in the long run.
Epi is a great resource for interview preparation. Way better than cracking the coding interview if you've been in the industry for a few years. Make sure to actually do the problems and use the judging code they provide. At the start of the book, they have a recommended set of problems based on how much time you have. You should follow that, but if you can't do some, just mark them for follow up. Do leetcode in addition based on the topics you need a refresher for.
Good book, harder questions than I thought it would be when I first got it
Last chapter is excellent
The problem set is good, though solutions and hints are printed right next to the statement (authors obviously not familiar with textbook principles), and sometimes solutions are hard to follow.
Great book overall. Used it recently rather than leetcode. Got 3/3 job offers.
How Long it took to complete the book?
I used and passed interviews with this book back before I knew about leetcode. The problems are more reflective of current interviews, and I found the explanations better than Cracking. I view this book as the best base to then leetcode on top of, nothing really beats the LC grind for polishing your skills for interviews. It also does a fairly good job of addressing the soft parts of interviews, but actually I think cracking had the best sections overall on aspects of interview prep outside of the technical questions.