This. Literally every problem in NP can be cast as a constraint problem. The question of whether a solver is the right solution varies a lot depending on the application, and in an interview , it’s almost by definition not the right solution.

They can also be dreadfully slow (and typically are) compared to just a simple dynamic program.

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jojomodding 4 days ago | parent [-]

LeetCode problems typically are in P. The challenge is finding out why.

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mcmoor 4 days ago | parent [-]

Yeah I think the trivial solution is always harder complexity and the main challenge is to lower it. Either from NP to P or from n*2 to n log n.

	▲	zahlman 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		> or from n2 to n log n. I guess you mean n^2 (or maybe n*2, if you're a fellow Pythonista). Many of these — especially the ones where the intended solution is characterized as using a "dynamic programming" technique — are reducible to n.