Leet Code Website

During my interview with Aha!, I ran into an algorithm question that, in hindsight, was embarrassingly simple. But in the moment? Total brain wipe. I had been prepping for deep computer science theory, so when they threw a straightforward coding question my way, my neurons staged a walkout. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get a call back—turns out, ‘stunned silence’ isn’t the winning response they were looking for.

However, my curiosity was piqued, and I couldn’t just let that brain-freeze moment slide. I had to dive deeper into this side of development. That’s when I stumbled upon what is apparently the go-to site for getting your brain tangled in algorithmic puzzles—LeetCode. Who knew self-inflicted suffering could be so educational?

Code Editor and Console for response

LeetCode provides a simple code editor with syntax highlighting, a ‘Run’ button to test your code, and a ‘Submit’ button to get your solution judged. Once submitted, you see how your code stacks up in terms of execution time and memory usage. It even compares your solution to others, showing where you rank. You can click through different submissions to see alternative approaches—some come with insightful comments, though most are just code drops. When explanations are scarce, deciphering them can feel like solving a second puzzle.

Beware—some challenges aren’t perfect, and a few can be downright impossible. Usually, this isn’t by design but rather due to an issue with the problem itself or a faulty test case. Checking the comments can save you from hours of frustration trying to solve the unsolvable. Consider it a friendly heads-up from past victims.

Fun, they said. Problems to solve, they said. But now I’m staring into the abyss, wondering how to untangle this madness—while also craving more. Send help… or more problems.