Data Structures Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Data Structures?
Data Structures are the means used to store and organize data in order to facilitate access and modifications. Different kinds of data structures are suited for different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks. Data structures provide a way to manage large amounts of data efficiently for uses such as large databases and internet indexing services.There are four main types of data structures: array, stack, queue, and linked list. Arrays store items in a contiguous sequence which can be accessed by an index number or key value. Stacks store items in Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) order; only the item at the top can be accessed or removed from the stack. Queues store items in First-In-First-Out (FIFO) order; only the item at the front can be accessed or removed from the queue. Linked lists are flexible collections that have no fixed size; they link together individual pieces of data so that they can be traversed one after another. The most efficient algorithms often use specialized data structures tailored to their particular problem domain. For example, binary search trees allow more efficient searching than linear search algorithms on sorted lists because they reduce overall search time by eliminating unnecessary comparisons along branches that do not contain matching elements. Similarly, hash tables offer faster lookups than searching through an unsorted list because hash functions generate a unique key for each element in a list which allows quick access without having to traverse each element individually until a match is found. In addition to using these basic types of data structures for algorithmic efficiency, computer scientists also design new ones as needed depending on application requirements such as speed versus memory usage or allowing certain operations over others like insertion versus deletion operations. For example, unionfind sets allow fast lookup times when needing find out if two elements belong to same set while skip lists increase insertion speed at cost of slightly slower search times compared with balanced binary search tree implementations like AVL trees and red/black trees. Data Structures represent one important area within computer science that allows us to efficiently store and manipulate vast amounts of information across many different domains ranging from web development all the way up through scientific computing applications like artificial intelligence research projects where efficiency is paramount for success since workloads may involve millions upon millions of calculations per second over extended periods of time with oftentimes realtime deadlines involved too boot.
