Data Structure Introduction

Data Structure Introduction

Data Structure is a way to store and organize data so that it can be used efficiently.

Types of Data Structures

There are two types of data structures:

• Primitive data structure
• Non-primitive data structure

Primitive Data structure

The primitive data structures are primitive data types. The int, char, float, double, and pointer are the primitive data structures that can hold a single value.

Non-Primitive Data structure

The non-primitive data structure is divided into two types:

• Linear data structure
• Non-linear data structure

Major Operations

• Searching: We can search for any element in a data structure.
• Sorting: We can sort the elements of a data structure either in an ascending or descending order.
• Insertion: We can also insert the new element in a data structure.
• Updation: We can also update the element, i.e., we can replace the element with another element.
• Deletion: We can also perform the delete operation to remove the element from the data structure.

Which Data Structure?

An ADT tells what is to be done and data structure tells how it is to be done. In other words, we can say that ADT gives us the blueprint while data structure provides the implementation part. Now the question arises: how can one get to know which data structure to be used for a particular ADT?.

(ADT Like Interface : List, Map, Stack, Queue)

As the different data structures can be implemented in a particular ADT, but the different implementations are compared for time and space. For example, the Stack ADT can be implemented by both Arrays and linked list. Suppose the array is providing time efficiency while the linked list is providing space efficiency, so the one which is the best suited for the current user's requirements will be selected.