SheetSolver : Collaborative DSA Solving Platform

Inspiration

Learning Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) is a core part of becoming a software engineer, but the journey is often isolating and inconsistent. Most students follow a “solo grind” approach—solving problems alone without accountability, feedback, or motivation. During my own preparation, I realized that the hardest part wasn’t always the problems—it was staying consistent and motivated. Watching peers progress faster in groups made me question:

Why is DSA practice still a solo activity when learning is inherently social? This led to the idea of SheetSolver—a platform that transforms DSA practice into a collaborative and engaging experience.

What it does

SheetSolver is a real-time collaborative mobile application for solving DSA problems together.

👥 Create or join private rooms 📄 Work on shared DSA sheets 📊 Track progress of all members in real time 💬 View and learn from peer solutions 👍 Acknowledge solutions to boost motivation

It turns coding practice into a team-based, competitive, and social activity, helping users stay consistent and improve faster.

How we built it

📱 Frontend: React Native (CLI) for cross-platform mobile development ⚙️ Backend: Node.js + Express.js for REST APIs 🗄️ Database: MongoDB with hybrid schema (embedding + referencing) ⚡ Real-time: Socket.IO for instant dashboard updates ☁️ Deployment: Docker + Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Challenges we ran into

🔄 Real-time synchronization: Ensuring all users see updates instantly without refresh 📱 Socket lifecycle issues: Multiple connections and missed events in React Native ⚡ Performance optimization: Efficiently updating UI for multiple users simultaneously 🧩 Database design: Balancing fast reads (dashboard) with flexible updates

Accomplishments that we're proud of

🚀 Built a fully functional real-time collaborative system ⚡ Achieved instant dashboard updates across multiple users 📱 Developed a cross-platform mobile app from a single codebase 🧠 Successfully applied Social Learning Theory + Gamification in a real product ☁️ Designed a scalable cloud-based architecture

What we learned

How to build real-time systems using WebSockets (Socket.IO) Managing state and lifecycle in React Native apps Designing scalable backend architecture with Docker & cloud Importance of user psychology in product design How collaboration can significantly improve learning outcomes

What's next for SheetSolver : Collaborative DSA Solving Platform

🤖 AI-powered feedback and hints for incorrect solutions 🧠 Automatic time & space complexity analysis 🚨 Code similarity detection to prevent copy-paste learning 💻 VS Code integration for seamless workflow 🌍 Public rooms and global leaderboards

Built With

• docker
• express.js
• google-cloud-platform-(gcp)
• javascript
• mongodb
• mongodb-atlas
• node.js
• react-native
• rest
• socket.io