Towards a Dominant Idea-Based Classification of LeetCode-Style Problems

LeetCode-style problems are often taught through conventional labels that are useful in practice but not always explanatory. This document proposes a complementary classification based on the dominant idea: the smallest insight that most directly explains why the intended solution works and, often, why it is naturally discovered. The aim is not to replace conventional interview labels, but to recover a more reasoning-centered description of the problem space. For students, this may provide a more honest and helpful way to understand why interview-style problems feel unfamiliar despite a solid standard CS background. For future methodological work, it may also offer a starting point for studying reasoning and transfer in this domain. The present document is exploratory but intended as a durable, revisable starting point.