Page 6 - Data Struct

6
Algorithm and Data Structure

Define data structure

Data is collection of numbers, alphabets and symbols combined to

represent information. A computer takes raw data as input and after

processing of data it produces refined data as output. We might say
that computer science is the study of data

Data structures provide a means to manage large amounts of data
efficiently for uses such as large databases and internet indexing

services. Usually, efficient data structures are key to designing
efficient algorithms. Some formal design methods and programming

languages emphasize data structures, rather than algorithms, as the

key organizing factor in software design. Storing and retrieving can be
carried out on data stored in both main memory and in secondary

memory

The study of data structures is nothing but how the basic data

structures are used to build new data structures (linked list, stacks,
queues, and binary trees) and what are the various operations that are

applied to these data structures. These new data structures are

created with the help of built-in data structures.