Roadmap › Stage 10: Tries & Bits › Pattern 53 of 53
DSA pattern guide
Bit Manipulation — Subsets & XOR
Enumerate subsets, XOR over ranges.
Use it when
Enumerate subsets, XOR over ranges.
Key idea
A mask from 0 to 2ⁿ−1 represents a subset. Prefix XOR answers range XOR in O(1).
Practice problems, in order
- SubsetsMedium
- Subsets IIMedium
- XOR Queries of a SubarrayMedium
- Maximum XOR of Two Numbers in ArrayMedium
- Maximum XOR With an Element From ArrayHard
How to practise this pattern
- Read the problem and look for the signal above before writing any code.
- Say the brute force out loud, with its time complexity, then ask what work it repeats.
- Apply the key idea and write the optimised version yourself.
- If you're stuck for more than 10 minutes, take one small hint, not the full solution.
- Move to the next problem only when you can explain why this pattern fits.
Stuck on one of these?
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