Coding Community | Data Structures

 

A data structure is a way of organizing and storing data in a computer program so that it can be accessed and modified efficiently. It is a way of representing and organizing data in a specific format that allows for efficient retrieval, manipulation, and modification of that data. Data structures can be simple, such as arrays and linked lists, or more complex, such as trees and graphs. They are a fundamental concept in computer science and are used in a wide range of applications, from databases and operating systems to graphics and artificial intelligence.

Data structures can be broadly classified into two main categories:

Linear data structures, where data is organized in a linear sequence, such as arrays, linked lists, stacks and queues.

Non-Linear data structures, where data is organized in a non-linear way, such as trees, graphs, and hash tables.

The choice of data structure depends on the specific problem and the operations that need to be performed. Different data structures have different time and space complexities for different operations, and the selection of the appropriate data structure can greatly impact the performance of an algorithm.

Introduction to Data Structures:

• What is Data Structure: Types, Classifications and Applications
• Introduction to Data Structures
• Common operations on various Data Structures

Popular types of Data Structures:

• Array  -  Click Here
• Linked List  -  Click Here
• Stack
• Queue
• Binary Tree
• Binary Search Tree
• Heap
• Hashing
• Graph
• Matrix

A data structure is a way of organizing and storing data in a computer program so that it can be accessed and modified efficiently. Some common examples of data structures include:

Arrays: a collection of elements, each identified by an index or key

Linked Lists: a collection of elements, each containing a reference to the next element

Stacks: a collection of elements with last-in-first-out (LIFO) ordering

Queues: a collection of elements with first-in-first-out (FIFO) ordering

Trees: a collection of elements with a hierarchical relationship, where each element (except for the root) has a parent and zero or more children

Graphs: a collection of elements with connections between them, represented by edges

Hash tables: a collection of elements that uses a hash function to map keys to indices in an array for efficient look-up

Heaps: a specific tree-based data structure that satisfies the heap property, either a max heap or min heap property

The choice of data structure depends on the specific problem and the operations that need to be performed. Different data structures have different time and space complexities for different operations, and the selection of the appropriate data structure can greatly impact the performance of an algorithm.