Which DP Is It? A Pattern Map

Most test DP questions are one of six shapes. How to spot each one from the question, what its state is, and what its recurrence looks like.

9 min 1 video Quiz Pro

You know the method: recursion → memo → table. The last skill is speed: seeing the state quickly. Most DP questions in tests are one of six shapes.

Is it DP at all?

The question says	It means
“how many ways”	DP, combine with `+`
“minimum / maximum / longest”	DP, combine with `Math.min` / `Math.max`
“is it possible”	DP, combine with `\|\|`
“print / list all”	usually backtracking, not DP
n is 100 to 10,000	too big for 2ⁿ, fine for n × something: DP

solulu Pro

Continue this lesson with Pro

Inside: 3 sections · 1 video · quiz.

Is it DP at all?
The six shapes
How to practise this chapter

Lifetime ~~₹1,999~~ ₹999 · Launch offer

Mark this as done when you are finished.

Item 27 of 44 · updated 2026-10-13