Prefix Sum Visualization

Precompute sums to answer range sum queries in O(1) time.

Original Array (arr)

Prefix Sum Array (P)

L:
R:
Ready to start
Ready
Speed

Pseudocode

1function buildPrefixSum(arr)
2 P[0] = arr[0]
3 for i = 1 to n-1
4 P[i] = P[i-1] + arr[i]
5
6 // Range Query(L, R)
7 if L == 0: return P[R]
8 return P[R] - P[L-1]

Time Complexity

PreprocessingO(n)
Range QueryO(1)

Usage:

Extremely useful for scenarios where the array is static but strict range sum queries are frequent.