juniorBacktracking
What is Backtracking?
Updated Apr 28, 2026
Short answer
Backtracking is a recursive technique that builds solutions incrementally and abandons invalid paths.
Deep explanation
Backtracking explores all possible solutions by making a choice, exploring it, and undoing it if it leads to an invalid state. It is commonly used in combinatorial problems like permutations, subsets, and puzzles.
Real-world example
Solving puzzles like Sudoku or maze navigation.
Common mistakes
- Not undoing the choice (missing backtrack step).
Follow-up questions
- What is recursion?
- Why backtracking?