Introduction to Data Structures

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It is important for every Computer Science student to understand the concept of Information and how it is organized or how it can be utilized. If we arrange some data in an appropriate sequence, then it forms a Structure and gives us a meaning. This meaning is called Information . A data structure is a particular way of storing and organizing data in a computer so that it can be used efficiently. Data may be organized in many different ways. The logical model of a particular organization of data in a computer is called data structure. The choice of the model based on two considerations. It should be reflect the data in the real world. It should be simple that one can effectively process the data when necessary. E.g. Array, linked list, stack, queue, tree, graph Data structure can be classified into two: Linear: A data structure is said to be linear if its elements form a sequence E.g. Array, linked list, stack, queue Non-Linear: A data structure is said to be non-linear if its elements do not form a sequence E.g. tree, graph Data Structure Opeations: Traversing: Processing each element in the list exactly once. It is also known as visiting the record. Searching: Finding the location of a record with a given value or finding records which satisfying one or more conditions. Inserting: Adding a new element to the structure. Deleting: Removing an element from the structure. Sorting: Arranging the records of a structure in some order. Merging: Combining the records in two different sorted files into a single sorted file.