Programming 3 - Data Structures Home

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In C++, data structures are ways of organizing and storing data to be accessed and worked with efficiently. They define the relationship between the data and the operations that can be performed on it. Here are some common data structures in C++ that we will be covering in this course

1. Arrays: An array is a collection of elements, each identified by an array index. Arrays in C++ are fixed in size, and the elements are stored in contiguous memory locations.

2. Structures (Structs): A struct is a user-defined data type that allows for the combination of data items of different kinds. Structs are useful for grouping together related data items.

3. Linked Lists: A linked list is a sequence of nodes, where each node is connected to the next node through a pointer. There are different types of linked lists like singly linked lists, doubly linked lists, and circular linked lists.

4. Stacks: A stack is a linear data structure that follows the LIFO (Last In, First Out) principle. The two primary operations performed on a stack are push (adding an item) and pop (removing an item).

5. Queues: A queue is a linear data structure that follows the FIFO (First In, First Out) principle. Elements are added at the rear end and removed from the front end.

6. Trees: A tree is a non-linear data structure that simulates a hierarchical tree structure. The most common tree structure in C++ is a binary tree, where each node has at most two children.

7. Graphs: A graph is a non-linear data structure consisting of nodes and edges. The nodes are sometimes also referred to as vertices and the edges are lines or arcs that connect any two nodes in the graph.

8. Hash Tables: A hash table is a data structure that implements an associative array, a structure that can map keys to values. A hash function is used to compute an index into an array of buckets or slots, from which the desired value can be found.

In C++, these data structures can be implemented using built-in arrays and pointers, or by using the Standard Template Library (STL), which provides templates for common data structures like std::vector (dynamic arrays), std::list (linked lists), std::stack, std::queue, std::map (balanced binary tree), std::unordered_map (hash table), etc. Understanding these data structures is crucial for effective problem-solving and algorithm development in computer science.