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Data Structure

amorphous form. When different types of such amorphous data are related to each other, we refer to it
as a data structure.

Queues, Stacks, Trees etc.

A data structure can be described as a set of domains d, a set of functions F and a set of rules A.
D = {d, F, A}
Where,
D refers to Data structure
d refers to Domain variable
F refers to a set of functions or procedures operating on domain variables.
A is a set of rules governing the operations of these functions on the domain variable.
The instructions of a computer program use data to perform certain tasks. Some programs generate
data without using any inputs. Some programs generate data using a set of inputs, while some
programs use a data set to manipulate the given data. Thus, the data is processed efficiently only by
organizing them in a particular structure.
The study of data structures helps to understand the basic concepts involved in organizing and storing
data as well as the relationship among the data sets. This in turn helps to determine the way
information is stored, retrieved and modified in a computer’s memory. The study of data structures is
not limited to the study of data sets. It further extends to the study of representation of data elements.
This means that it explains how different types of data are placed in the computer's memory using the
binary number system, which forms the storage structure or memory representation. Data structure is
implemented in computer programs to manage data. The data is managed using certain logical or
mathematical models or concepts. A complex data structure can also be built using simple data
structures.
1.1 Basic Concepts and Notations of Data Structures

Data structure is a branch of computer science. The study of data structure helps you to understand
how data is organized and how data flow is managed to increase efficiency of any process or program.
Data structure is the structural representation of logical relationship between data elements. This means
that a data structure organizes data items based on the relationship between the data elements.

A house can be identified by the house name, location, number of floors and
so on. These structured set of variables depend on each other to identify the
exact house. Similarly, data structure is a structured set of variables that are
linked to each other, which forms the basic component of a system
1.1.1 Data Structures and Algorithms
A data structure is basically an arrangement of data within a computer's memory in computer-
understandable language. In other words, data is stored in 0 and 1 format and is retrieved in ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange) codes, which is human-understandable format.
The structural and functional aspects of the program depend on the design of the data structure. Thus, a
data structure forms the basic building block of a program. Different data structures are used in
applications for efficient operation of these applications. The programmers must select the correct data
structure to write more efficient programs. This helps to solve the complexity of the problems at a rapid
rate.
In computer science, an algorithm is defined as a finite list of distinct instructions for calculating a
function. Algorithms are used for data processing, calculation and automated reasoning. An algorithm
can also be defined as a set of rules that accurately defines a series of operations.

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