Data Structure

What is Data Structure?

A data Structure (DS) is a particular way of storing and organizing data in a computer so that it can be used effectively. A data type in a programming language is a set of data with the value having predefined characteristics.

System/Compiler-defined data types are called primitive data types.

Structure in C/C++ and classes in C++/JAVA are the means to create our own data type known as User-defined data type.


CLASSIFICATION  

Two major classifications of data structure are:-

(i) Linear Data Structure (Link, list, stack queue).

(i) Non-Linear Data Structure (tree, graph).


Why Data Structure?

They are essential ingredients in creating fast and powerful algorithms. They help in managing and organizing data. They make code cleaner and easier to Understand. It's no wonder that every Computer Science Undergraduate Student is required to take a course in Data Structure.


ABSTRACT DATA TYPE

All Primitive data types support basic operations like addition, subtraction, etc. The system provides the implementation for the primitive data types. For non primitive data types we also need to define operations. A combination of data structures and their operations are known as Abstract Data Types.