CSA201 – Applied Data Structures and

Algorithms
Unit 3: Introduction To Data Structures and
Algorithms

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What is a Data Structure?
● Data Structures are different ways of organizing data on your computer, that can be
used effectively.

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What is a Data Structure?
● Data Structures are different ways of organizing data on your computer, that can be
used effectively.

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What is a Data Structure?
● Data Structures are different ways of organizing data on your computer, that can be
used effectively.

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What is an Algorithm?
Set of instructions to perform a Task

Step 1: Choosing flooring Step 2: Purchase and bring

Step 5: Trim door casing Step 4: Determine the layout Step 3: Prepare sub flooring
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What is an Algorithm?
● Algorithm in Computer Science: Set of rules for a computer program to
accomplish a Task. It takes a set of input(s) and produces the desired output.
For example:
Input Data
● An algorithm to add two numbers:
1. Take two number inputs
2. Add numbers using the + operator
Calculation
3. Display the result

Stop when answer found

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What is an Algorithm?
● Sample Algorithms that are used by BIG Companies.
● How do Google and Facebook transmit live video across the internet?
Compression algorithms

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What is an Algorithm?
● Sample Algorithms that are used by BIG Companies.
● How to find the shortest path on the map?

Graph algorithms

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What is an Algorithm?
What makes a good algorithm?

● Correctness
● Efficiency

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What is an Algorithm?
Characteristics

● Unambiguous: Algorithm should be clear and unambiguous.

● Input : An algorithm should have 0 or more well-defined inputs.
● Output : An algorithm should have 1 or more well-defined outputs, and should match
the desired output.
● Finiteness : Algorithms must terminate after a finite number of steps.
● Feasibility : Should be feasible with the available resources.
● Independent : An algorithm should have step-by-step directions, which should be
independent of any programming code.

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Algorithm
Example
● Problem: Design an algorithm to add two numbers and display the result.
● Example
○ Step 1 - START
○ Step 2 - declare three integers a, b & c
○ Step 3 - define values of a & b
○ Step 4 - add values of a & b
○ Step 5 - store output of step 4 to c
○ Step 6 - print c
○ Step 7 - STOP

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Why are Data Structures and Algorithms important?

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Why are Data Structures and Algorithms important?
Input data

Output

Processing

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Why are Data Structures and Algorithms important?

COMPUTER SCIENCE
ALGORITHMS

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Why are Data Structures and Algorithms important?

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Types of Data Structure

Data Structure can be categorized into: Linear Data Structures and Non-Linear Data Structures

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Types of Data Structure
Linear Data Structures
● In linear data structures, the elements are arranged in sequence one after the
other. Since elements are arranged in particular order, they are easy to
implement
● Generally there are four ways of representing linear data structure:
○ Arrays
○ Linked Lists
○ Stack
○ Queue

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Data Structures
Non-Linear Data Structures

● Unlike linear data structures, elements in non-linear data structures are not in
any sequence. Instead they are arranged in a hierarchical manner where one
element will be connected to one or more elements.
● Type of non-linear data structures are:
○ Trees
○ Graphs

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Linear Vs. Non-linear Data Structures
Linear Data Structures
The data items are arranged in sequential order, one
after the other
All the items are present on the single layer
It can be traversed on a single run. That is, if we start
from the first element, we can traverse all the elements
sequentially in a single pass.
The memory utilization is not efficient.
The time complexity increase with the data size.
Example: Arrays, Stack, Queue
Non-Linear Data Structures
The data items are arranged in non-sequential order
(hierarchical manner)
The data items are present at different layers
It requires multiple runs. That is, if we start from the
first element it might not be possible to traverse all the
elements in a single pass.
Different structures utilize memory in different efficient
ways depending on the need.
Time complexity remains the same.
Example: Tree, Graph, Map
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Types of Algorithms

1. Simple recursive algorithms

2. Divide and conquer algorithms
3. Dynamic programming algorithms
4. Greedy algorithms
5. Brute force algorithms
6. Randomized algorithm

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Types of Algorithms

● Simple recursive algorithms

● Divide and conquer algorithms

○ Divide the problem into smaller subproblems of the same type, and solve these
subproblems recursively
○ Combine the solutions to the subproblems into a solution to the original problem
○ Examples: Quick sort and merge sort

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Types of Algorithms

● Dynamic programming algorithms

○ They work based on memoization
○ To find the best solution

● Greedy algorithms
○ We take the best we can without worrying about future consequences
○ We hope that by choosing a local optimum solution at each step, we will end up at a global opt

● Brute force algorithms

○ It simply tries all possibilities until a satisfactory solution is found

● Randomized algorithms
○ Use a random number at least once during the computation to make a decision

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Recursion

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What is Recursion?
● Recursion : a way of solving a problem by having a function calling itself

○ Performing the same operation multiple times with different inputs

○ In every step we try smaller inputs to make the problem smaller.
○ Base condition is needed to stop the recursion, otherwise infinite loop will occur

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What is Recursion?
● Recursion : a way of solving a problem by having a function calling itself

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What we need Recursion?
● Recursive thinking is really important in programming and it helps you break down big
problems into smaller ones and easier to use
● when to choose recursion?
○ If you can divide the problem into similar sub problems
■ Design an algorithm to compute nth…
■ Write code to list the n…
■ Implement a method to compute all.
■ Practice
● The prominent usage of recursion in data structures like trees and graphs.
● It is used in many algorithms (divide and conquer, greedy and dynamic programming)

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The Logic Behind Recursion
1. A method calls itself
2. Exit from infinite loop

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The Logic Behind Recursion

STACK Memory

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The Logic Behind Recursion

recursiveMethod(4) 4
recursiveMethod(3) 3
STACK Memory
recursiveMethod(2) 2
recursiveMethod(1) 1

recursiveMethod(0) n is less than 1

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Recursive vs Iterative Solutions
Recursive Iterative

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When to Use/Avoid Recursion?
● When to use it?
○ When we can easily breakdown a problem into similar subproblems
○ When we are fine with extra overhead (both time and space) that comes with it
○ When we need a quick working solution instead of efficient one
○ When traverse a tree
○ When we use memoization in recursion
● When to avoid it?
○ If time and space complexity matters for us.
○ Recursion uses more memory. If we use embedded memory. For example an application
that takes more memory in the phone is not efficient
○ Recursion can be slow

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Write Recursion in 3 Steps
● Factorial
○ It is the product of all positive integers less than or equal to n.
○ Denoted by n! (Christian Kramp in 1808).
○ Only positive numbers.
○ 0!=1
● Example 1
○ 4! = 4*3*2*1=24
● Example 2
○ 10! = 10*9*8*7*6*5*4*3*2*1=36,28,800
○ n! = n*(n-1)*(n-2)*…*2*1

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Write Recursion in 3 Steps
● Step 1 : Recursive case - the flow
n! = n * (n-1) * ( n-2) * … * 2 * 1 n! = n * (n-1)!

(n-1)!

(n-1)! = (n-1) * (n-1-1) * (n-1-2) * … * 2 * 1 = (n-1) * (n-2) * (n-3) * … * 2 * 1

● Step 2 : Base case - the stopping criterion
○ 0! = 1
○ 1! = 1
● Step 3 : Unintentional case - the constraint
○ factorial(-1) ??
○ factorial(-2) ??

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Write Recursion in 3 Steps

factorial(4) = 24
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factorial(4)

4 * factorial(3) 2
3 * factorial(2) 1

2 * factorial(1)

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Write Recursion in 3 Steps
● Fibonacci numbers
○ Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two
preceding ones and the sequence starts from 0 and 1
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89…

○ Step 1 : Recursive case - the flow

5=3+2 f(n) = f(n-1) + f(n-2)

○ Step 2 : Base case - the stopping criterion

0 and 1
○ Step 3 : Unintentional case - the constraint
fibonacci(-1) ??
fibonacci(1.5) ??

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Write Fibonacci Recursion in 3 Steps

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89…

fibonacci(4) =3 2 1
fibonacci(3) + fibonacci(2) 1 0

1 fibonacci(1) + fibonacci(0)
1
fibonacci(2) + fibonacci(1)
1 0
fibonacci(1) + fibonacci(0)

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Questions
1. Find the sum of digits of a positive integer number using recursion.
2. How to calculate power of a number using recursion?
3. How to find GCD ( Greatest Common Divisor) of two numbers using recursion?
4. How to convert a number from Decimal to Binary using recursion.

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Analysis of Algorithms

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Introduction to Analysis of Algorithms
● To classify data structures and algorithms as “good,” we must have precise ways of analyzing
them.
● The primary analysis tool involves characterizing the running times (Time Complexity) of
algorithms, with space usage (Space Complexity) also being of interest.
● Running time is a measure of “goodness,” since time is a precious resource—computer
solutions should run as fast as possible.
● In general, the running time of an algorithm or data structure operation increases with the
input size, although it may also vary for different inputs of the same size. Also, the running
time is affected by the hardware environment (e.g., the processor, clock rate, memory, disk)
and software environment (e.g., the operating system, programming language) in which the
algorithm is implemented and executed

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Introduction to Analysis of Algorithms
● One way to study the efficiency of an algorithm is to implement it and
experiment by running the program on various test inputs while recording the
time spent during each execution.
● A simple mechanism for collecting such running times in Java is based on use
of the currentTimeMillis method of the System class.
● However, the measured times reported by method currentTimeMillis will vary
greatly from machine to machine, and may likely vary from trial to trial, even
on the same machine.

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Introduction to Analysis of Algorithms
● To evaluate the efficiency of any two algorithms in a way that is independent of
the hardware and software environment.
○ Is performed by studying a high-level description of the algorithm (either
in the form of an actual code fragment, or language-independent
pseudocode).
■ Counting Primitive Operations: Instead of trying to determine the specific
execution time of each primitive operation, we will simply count how many
primitive operations are executed, and use this number t as a measure of the
running time of the algorithm.

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Introduction to Analysis of Algorithms
● Counting Primitive Operations

int addUpTo(n){ int addUpTo(n){

return n * (n + 1) / 2; int sum = 0;
} for(int i = 1; i <= n; i++){
sum+=i;
}
3 operations return sum;
}
5n+2 operations

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Big O Notations
To capture the order of growth of an algorithm’s running time, we will associate, with each algorithm, a
function f (n) that characterizes the number of primitive operations that are performed as a function of
the input size n. Alternatively, we can say “ f (n) is order of g(n)” for the big-Oh notation.

● Big O is the language and metric we use to describe the efficiency of algorithms.
● The running time required by the given algorithm
falls under three types:
○ Best case - minimum time required in executing the
program
○ Average case - average time required in executing
the program
○ Worst case - maximum time required in executing
the program
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Big O Notations
● Big O : It is a complexity that is going to be less or equal to the worst case.
● Big - Ω (Big-Omega) : It is a complexity that is going to be at least more than the
best case.
● Big Theta (Big - Θ) : It is a complexity that is within bounds of the worst and the
best cases.

n
5 4 10 … 8 11 68 87 12 … 90 13 77 55 9

Big O - O(N)
Big Ω - Ω(1)
Big Θ - Θ(n/2)

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Runtime Complexities

O(1) - Constant time

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Runtime Complexities

O(N) - Linear time

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Runtime Complexities

O(Log N) – Logarithmic time

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Runtime Complexities

O(N2) – Quadratic time

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Runtime Complexities

O(2N) – Exponential time

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Runtime Complexities

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Space Complexity

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Space Complexity
static int sum(int n) {
static int pairSumSequence(int n){
if (n <= 0) {
var sum = 0;
return 0; for (int i = 0; i <= n; i++){
} sum = sum + pairSum(i,i+1);
return n + sum(n-1); }
} return sum;
}
static int pairSum(int a, int b){
Space complexity : ? return a + b;
}

Space complexity :?

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Drop Constants and Non Dominant Terms

Drop Constant
O(2N) O(N)

Drop Non Dominant Terms

O(N2+N) O(N2)

O(N+logN) O(N)

O(2*2N+1000N100) O(2N)

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How to measure the codes using Big O?

sampleArray

Time complexity :
O(1) + O(n) + O(1) = O(n)

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Questions
1. Create a function which calculates the sum and product of elements of array
-Find the time complexity for created method.

2. What is the time complexity for this method?

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Questions
3. What is the runtime of the below code?

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