Process

1. Read the problem carefully
   • Made sure I knew what the input and output should be. Checked for any weird cases like empty lists or missing keys.
2. Used the right tools
   • For lists, .stream(), .map(), and .collect() handled transformations easily.
   • For maps, .containsKey(), .put(), and .remove() were all I needed.
3. Planned before writing code
   • Thought through the logic first instead of jumping in and fixing later.
   • Example: In mapBully, I knew "b" should take "a"‘s value while "a" became empty, so I wrote that directly.
4. Wrote the code and tested in small steps
   • Kept it simple at first, then added edge case handling.

What Worked

• Recognizing patterns – Most problems followed similar logic (modify lists, update maps).
• Using Java Streams – Made list modifications quick and clean.
• Handling maps efficiently – Used .containsKey() to avoid unnecessary conditions.
• Fixing small parts first – Debugging one issue at a time instead of rewriting everything.

What Didn’t Work

• Forgetting edge cases – Ignoring empty inputs or missing keys led to bugs.
• Overcomplicating solutions – Some problems could be solved in one line, but I made them harder.
• Relying on the first try – Some logic worked for basic cases but failed on edge cases.

Tries Taken

• Simple ones (lists, basic maps): Usually done in 1-2 tries.
• More complex ones (maps with conditions): Took 3-5 tries, mostly fixing edge cases.