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What solving the ‘Encode and Decode String” Problem Taught Me About Programming and Life
The reflection I had while solving the encode decode strings problem. We're not only doing things for now, but for the future, for others, and for our future selves.
Today I solved the “Encode and Decode Strings” problem on LeetCode. It reminded me that being a programmer isn’t just about writing code, instead, it’s also about thinking ahead.
In the challenge, we had to encode an array of strings into a single string. We could easily solve it by just concatenate the string and we’re done, right? But then comes the catch: we also need to decode it later.
How do we separate the strings again if we didn’t leave clear boundaries between them? That’s the real challenge and most importantly, the real lesson.
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Input: ["memories", "love", "you"]
Encoded to: "8#memories4#love3#you"
Decoded to: ["memories", "love", "you"]
Output: ["memories", "love", "you"]
---It’s a mindset that applies far beyond programming.
We’re not just writing code for today. We’re writing it for the people who come after us. For teammates, future maintainers, even our future selves. Clean code, clear structure, and thoughtful decisions make life easier down the road.
And honestly, isn’t that true for life, too?
When I visited my dad recently, I noticed his tools and documents were scattered across the table and drawers, hmmm a bit chaotic. So I decided to organize everything into boxes. But I didn’t stop there. I labeled each box and wrote a list of what was inside. Not for me. It was meant to help him find what he needed easily, even months later.
In another analogy, encoding is like when you’re going into a deep, unfamiliar forest. You leave some signs along the path so that you could easily find your way back later on.
So, either in programming or life, our goals isn’t just about to make the NOW work, but to make the FUTURE easier.