In this digital environment, data is an important part of technology. In this world of programming, the technique we use to efficiently store, organize and secure the information of a company or organization is data structure. If I say it simply, data structure is arranging data in such a way that that data can be found and updated when needed. If I give you an example, “You have many spice boxes in your kitchen. There are different spices in those boxes such as: chili, salt, oil, pepper, etc. Your mother has arranged these spices well and kept them in one place. When she needs the spice, she will get it from there.” That is data structure.
What is Data Structure?
A data structure is a format for organizing data. It helps programmers determine what data will be stored in a program and how to operate on that data.
Example:
- To store student data like name, role, subject, address in a list in a school or college, we can use Array.
- If I want to store some data in rows, I will use Queue. Now if I want to store some data in a stack, I will use stack.
Types of Data Structures
Data structures are basically of two types :
1. Linear Data Structure
In this data structure, data is organized one by one.
Example:
- Array
- Linked List
- Stack
- Queue
2. Non-Linear Data Structure
This data is not in a simple sequence, but rather is arranged in a related way.
Example:
- Tree
- Graph
Why Data Structures are Important ??
Data structures are the foundation of programming, allowing for searching, updating, etc. when needed. Important reasons:
- Data structures make it easy to store and retrieve data.
- This improves the format of the program and makes it very efficient in programming.
- We can use less memory by using data structures.
Real Life Application
Data structures are used in all the applications and software I use every day. For example:
- For example, searching for information on Google
- Organizing social media news feeds
- Game Development Object Tracking
- Network Routing System.
