Introduction To Data
Structures
- Shefali Singla
Reference Books:
Text Books
1. AM Tanenbaum, Y Langsam& MJ Augustein, “Data structure using C and C++”, Prentice Hall India.
2. 2. Robert Kruse, Bruse Leung, “Data structures & Program Design in C”, Pearson Education.
Reference Books
1. Aho, Hopcroft, Ullman, “Data Structures and Algorithms”, Pearson Education.
2. N. Wirth, “Algorithms + Data Structure = Programs”, Prentice Hall.
3. Jean – Paul Trembly , Paul Sorenson, “An Introduction to Structure with application”, TMH.
4. 4. Richard, GilbergBehrouz, Forouzan ,“Data structure – A Pseudocode Approach with C”,
Thomson press.
Concepts of Data and Information
Data
• Raw facts and figures that have no meaning by themselves.
• Example: 45, 78, 90, "John" (without context, meaningless).
• Data can be numeric, character, image, audio, or video.
• Stored in computer memory in binary form (0s and 1s).
Information
• Processed or organized data that has meaning and can be used for decision-making.
• Example: “John scored 90 marks in Mathematics”.
• Information = Data + Meaning/Context.
Relation
• Data → Processing → Information
• Without processing, data is useless; after processing, it becomes valuable information.
Data Structures
A Data Structure is a way of storing, organizing, and managing data in computer memory so
that it can be accessed and modified efficiently.
Algorithms focus on processing this data.
Examples of data structures are Array, Linked List, Tree and Heap, and examples of algorithms are
Binary Search, Quick Sort and Merge Sort.
Broad Classification Data Structures
1. Primitive Data Structures- Directly supported by programming languages. Examples: Integer,
Float, Character, Boolean.
2. Non-Primitive Data Structures
• Divided into two categories:
Linear Data Structures
• Elements arranged in sequential order.
• Easy to implement and traverse.
Non-Linear Data Structures
• Data is not stored sequentially.
• More complex relationships among elements.
Classification of Data Structures (Tabular View):
Category Examples Features
Primitive Data Structures int, float, char, boolean Basic, language-defined
Linear Data Structures Array, Linked List, Stack, Queue Sequential arrangement
Non-Linear Data Structures Tree, Graph Hierarchical, network type
File Structures Sequential, Indexed, Hashed Secondary storage mgmt
Abstract Data Types (ADT)
Definition
• An Abstract Data Type (ADT) is a mathematical model for a certain class of data
structures that specifies:
• What operations can be performed on the data.
• What kind of data is stored.
• Does not specify implementation details.
In simple words:
ADT = Logical description of data + operations, independent of how it is implemented.
Components of ADT
• Data objects (what type of data is stored).
• Operations (what can be done on data).
• Implementation (hidden) – actual coding using arrays, linked lists, etc.
Importance of ADT
• Provides abstraction → user only knows what operations are possible, not how they are
implemented.
• Makes program design modular and implementation-independent.
