Purpose of
data structures
Computer programs
processes
information
In order to
process
information
efficiently
:
Information
must be
stored
in a
certain
way
There are
many
different
storage techniques
to
store
information
Each
storage technique
provides an
access strategy
to the
stored
data
Each
storage technique
has its
strengths
and its
weaknesses
Sample
data structures
:
Dynamic
array
:
flexible
Queue
:
first-in-first-out
access
Stack
:
first-in-last-out
access
Overview
data structures
discussed in this course
Dynamic Array
:
More flexible
than
static
array
Associative Array
(
a.k.a.
map
or
dictionary
):
Fast
look up
based on
keys
Set
:
Each
value
is
stored
at most
once
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