The Common Data Structures you should know

Do you know what the most common data structures are? Have you ever thought about which are the most important data structures? Let us gain some knowledge about data structure & find out the most common data structures you should know as a programmer.

But before we start making a list of the most important data structures, let us try to find what is a data structure from an example of our daily life. Then we will find out how many data structures there are. Let us start.

Assume one scenario from our daily life.

Suppose you have a lot of dresses. You have shirts, genes, hoodies, etc. Now, you want to store them in a safe place. For that purpose, you have purchased one wardrobe.

And inside that wardrobe, you have nicely placed all of your clothing. But you also have an extensive collection of books. So you also have a lot of space available inside the wardrobe.

Are you able to store your books inside the same wardrobe? You can’t!

As the books have a unique storing space. Those are known as the bookshelf. So, you have to store specific items in specific places. The same thing goes for the data structures.

There are a lot of data structures present. But those are different for every item. So, we have to understand the most common data structures.

So, we have clearly understood the concept of data structures. Now, it is time to find out how many data structures there are. Also, we need to find out the most important data structures.

What Are Data Structures

Data Structures are an essential form of storing data. While writing a program, a programmer needs to solve different problems related to a sort of data. If the data is not structured correctly, it is challenging to operate on it. Like, when you try to solve a puzzle.

But you don't have all the puzzle parts with you or are in an abnormal form. Data structures ensure that all the data should be kept in a structured way.

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Data structures help to reduce the time & space consumption of any program. In addition, structured data helps reduce the problem that arises when making operations on it.

Programmers need to understand which data structures should be used at which point. Otherwise, using any odd data structure will increase the problem of solving the particular issue.

In every programming language, data structures can be defined. There is no specific language that only implements the data structures.

Types Of Data Structures

Now, after knowing about the definition of data structures, it is time to know how many data structures there are. There is a wide range of data structures present. They are divided into two categories. One is the Linear Data Structures. Another is the Non-linear Data Structures. Their structural form names them. Let us try to know more about the categories. Also, we need to determine the further division inside the category.

Linear Data Structures:

• Array

• Linked List

• Stack

• Queue

Non-Linear Data Structures:

• Tree

• Graph

Most Common Data Structures

Now, after knowing about the types of data structures, it is time to understand common data structures. These data structures should be known by programmers as these data structures are widely used by programmers all over the world.

Furthermore, these common data structures can solve nearly 99% of the total program.

Let us try to learn about them one by one briefly.

Array

This is the linear data structure. This means it has a structure that is in a linear format. The array is a data structure that continuously stores the data in the memory.

This means the data that is going to store inside of the memory one after another. There is a problem with this data structure. This data structure is a static one.

This means we won't be able to expand it after declaring it. The memory space may sometimes be wasted due to the large array size.

Linked List

It is also the linear data structure. This means it also follows a linear path to store data. It has one significant advantage. It has a dynamic nature.

This means when there is a need, we can expand it further. So, there is not any waste of memory space. It uses the pointer function to implement a linked list.

There are also different kinds of linked lists. There are Double Linked Lists and Single Linked Lists. Circular Linked List.

Stack

This is also a linear data structure. The stack is considered as the container. It is a container where we can store data one by one. Stacks are implemented using the array or the linked list.

They followed a simple theory. They follow the method First-In-Last-Out (FILO) or Last-In-First-Out (LIFO). Both are the same concept. It means that an element inserted first will be removed at last.

Queue

It is also an example of a linear data structure. As the name suggests, it also works like a queue in our daily life. It uses a special theory. It is First-In-First-Out (FIFO) or Last-In-Last-Out (LILO).

Both are the same theory. An element that is inserted into this data structure in the first case will be removed at first. This data structure is also made up of an array or linked list. But most of the time, it is made up of the linked list.

Tree

This is an example of a non-linear data structure. This means this data structure does not follow a linear path. It takes a structure that is not linear.

The tree data structure is implemented using the linked list concept. There are different tree data structures, like Binary Trees, Binary Search trees, etc. Trees help a lot to solve complex questions.

Graphs

This is also an example of common data structures. It is also under consideration for non-linear data structures. This data structure is also implemented using the linked list concept.

There are nodes. This node is connected to the edges. This creates the entire structure. Graphs help to understand a network. It also helps to solve problems related to the maps.

Heaps

Though it is not a different type of data structure. But still, we need to consider it for the common data structures. This is an example of a non-linear data structure. It is implemented using the tree data structure.

Hash Tables

It is an entirely new data structure. They can't be categorized into any class. There we need to insert keys with values. This will help to understand some processes very quickly.

Conclusion

As we saw, common data structures are the most important to know.

We have to clear the most important data structures. The most common data structures are widely used in every big programming project.

We need to remember how many data structures there are. Also, it is advisable to clear the basics of C programming Language to understand the topic more easily.