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This week's coding challenge might seem easy at first, but you'll need strong intuition to solve it. Read on to find out.

Today we will cover:

• Jump Game

• Distributed Session Management

Read time: under 4 minutes

CODING CHALLENGE

Jump Game

You are given an integer array nums. You are initially positioned at the array's first index, and each element in the array represents your maximum jump length at that position.

Return true if you can reach the last index, or false otherwise.

Example 1:

Input: nums = [2,3,1,1,4]
Output: true
Explanation: Jump 1 step from index 0 to 1, then 3 steps to the last index.

Example 2:

Input: nums = [3,2,1,0,4]
Output: false
Explanation: You will always arrive at index 3 no matter what. Its maximum jump length is 0, which makes it impossible to reach the last index.

Solve the problem here before reading the solution.

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SOLUTION

To solve this problem, we'll use a greedy approach. We'll start from the end of the array and work backwards. We'll maintain a goal position that represents the index we need to reach.

Initially, the goal is set to the last index. Then we iterate through the array from right to left. If we can reach the goal from current index, we update the goal to current index.

If we can eventually move the goal to the first index, it means we can reach the last index. The time complexity of this solution is O(n), where n is the length of the nums array.

SYSTEM DESIGN

Distributed Session Management

Imagine you're building a web application that needs to handle millions of users. When a user logs in, you need to keep track of their session across multiple servers. This is where distributed session management becomes crucial.

In a single-server setup, managing sessions is straightforward. You just store session data in the server's memory. But when your application runs on multiple servers behind a load balancer, this approach breaks down. If a user's next request goes to a different server, their session data won't be available.

There are several ways to handle sessions in a distributed environment:

Sticky Sessions is the simplest approach. The load balancer ensures that all requests from a user go to the same server where their session was created. While easy to implement, this method has drawbacks. If a server fails, all its sessions are lost. It also makes load balancing less effective since requests can't be freely distributed.

Client-side Sessions store all session data in cookies on the user's browser. Each request carries the complete session data, eliminating the need for server-side storage. However, cookies have size limitations and sending session data with every request increases network traffic. Also, storing sensitive data in cookies can be a security risk.

Centralized Session Storage uses a shared database or cache (like Redis) to store session data. When a request arrives at any server, it can fetch the session data from this central storage. This approach is reliable and scalable, but adds some latency since each request needs to fetch session data from the central store.

Here's how these approaches compare:

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NEWS

This Week in the Tech World

Google debuts nano banana AI: Google launches "nano banana" image editing model in Gemini app, achieving top LMArena rankings. The AI maintains consistency across edits, allowing users to modify photos while preserving subject appearance.

Nvidia launches robot brain chip: Nvidia released its Jetson AGX Thor "robot brain" developer kit for $3,499, targeting robotics as its largest growth opportunity beyond AI. The chip is 7.5 times faster than previous generation and can run large language models for humanoid robots.

Apple announces iPhone 17 event: Apple sets September 9 event for iPhone 17 lineup including new "iPhone Air" model focused on thinness. Company also expected to unveil Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3 alongside other devices.

Google shares jump on Apple Gemini talks: Alphabet stock rose 3% on reports that Apple is discussing using Google's Gemini AI models to power a revamped Siri assistant launching next year. The potential partnership comes as Google faces antitrust pressure over its lucrative search deals with Apple.

IRL founder charged with investor fraud: Abraham Shafi, founder of the shuttered IRL social media app, faces charges for defrauding investors of $170 million in 2021 funding. Prosecutors allege he secretly spent millions on user acquisition while telling investors the company spent "very little" on growth.

OpenAI promises ChatGPT safety updates: OpenAI announced plans to improve ChatGPT's handling of "sensitive situations" including suicidal intent after parents sued claiming the chatbot helped their 16-year-old son explore suicide methods. The company will add parental controls and explore connecting users to licensed therapists.

Google risks losing Apple search deals: Federal judge expected to rule on remedies that could end Google's $26 billion annual search payments, including $20 billion to Apple. Analysts suggest Google could benefit by redirecting funds toward AI and cloud investments rather than expensive default contracts.

Microsoft removes Israel work protesters: Microsoft had police remove seven protesters who stormed President Brad Smith's office to oppose alleged use of company software by Israeli military for surveillance. Two of the protesters were Microsoft employees, and the company is investigating disciplinary action.

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BONUS

Just for laughs 😏

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