JavaScript Algorithm Interview

Algorithm Strategy:

✅ Good start! You're thinking systematically. Let's optimize this approach:

Sliding Window Technique:

• Use two pointers (left and right) to maintain a window
• Use a Set or Map to track characters in current window
• Expand right pointer, shrink left when duplicate found
• Track maximum window size encountered

JavaScript Optimization Tips:

• Use Set for O(1) character lookup
• Consider Map to store character indices for faster shrinking
• Use string.charAt() vs bracket notation for older browser support

Excellent implementation! Now explain these key points:

Time Complexity: O(n) - single pass through string

Space Complexity: O(min(m,n)) where m is charset size

JavaScript-Specific Optimizations:

• Map vs Object: Map preserves insertion order and has better performance for frequent additions/deletions
• String indexing: Using s[right] is efficient for string character access
• Math.max: Built-in function is optimized for number comparisons

Follow-up Questions to Prepare:

• "How would you modify this for Unicode characters?"
• "What if the input was a stream of characters?"
• "How would you implement this with only Set instead of Map?"
• "What about case sensitivity considerations?"