INTRODUCTION TO DATA STRUCTURES

By
Dr.A.Ashok Kumar
Department Of Computer Science,
Alagappa Govt. Arts College, Karaikudi
THE NEED OF DATA STRUCTURES

 Computer system based on three

activities:
1. Storing
2. Accessing
3. Manipulation
CONTINUED....
 The field of computer science divided into major
categories:
 Operating systems
 Databases
 Compilers
 Artificial Intelligence
 Application programs
 Etc..
 Each of this field requires above said activities
CONTINUED ...

 Each field addresses the data of their interest

 All applications of computer science uses the
study of data structures
 Every programmer need to understand the
principles and techniques to solve the problems.
TYPES
 A type refers to a domain of values
 The following table shows the examples:
Types Domain of Values
Characters Set of characters
Integers ...., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ....
Real Set of real numbers
Complex numbers Real number x Real number
Small fractions { x | x is between 0.0 and 1.0}
Boolean {true | false}
Days {Sunday, Monday,..., Saturday}
Months {Jan, Feb, ..., Dec}
Primary colors {red, green, blue}
DATA TYPE
 Data type refers to the domain of values
(types) and the operations performed on these
values
 Table shows the examples of data types:
Data Types Set of operations
Integer Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Modules
Character Convert a character to lowercase/uppercase, to find whether
the character is alphabetic/digit, etc.
Real Number Arithmetic (+, -, *,/), finding absolute, floor, ceil values
Complex number Create complex number, find conjugate of the number,
arithmetic operations(+, -, *, /)
Boolean AND, OR, NOT
ABSTRACT DATA TYPES (ADT)
 An ADT is a data type in which the members of
the data type are unknown to users of the type
 Abstraction refers to defining new types, hiding
the details of implementation
 The user and the implementor agree on the type
of the interface
 Example: interface for operating a television
using remote control
 Television circuit details are hidden
ADVANTAGES OF ADT
 Isolate application from the implementation
 Supports modular programming
1. Program split into modules
2. Modules compiled separately
3. Modules can use same ADT
 Supports encapsulation
1. Modules are kept independent
2. Different classes that implements same interface
3. No need to change the modules use the ADT, when change
the implementation
PRE- AND POST- CONDITIONS
 Pre- condition refers to the properties of the
inputs assumed by the operation
 This defines the state of the program before calling a
function
 Post- conditions specifies the effect of an
operation
 This defines the state of the program when it returns
DATA STRUCTURES
 A data structure is a physical representation of an
ADT
 It indicates the data type and how its stored in a
computer
 An integer as a data structure, defined as integer
data type stored on consecutive memory locations
CONTINUED...
 String is a data structure, consists of sequence of
characters – stored in consecutive locations
 Two types of implementations:
 Fixed length and
 Variable length
 The following table shows the various types of
data types:
 Type Topology Description Examples
Set Collection of Students in a class
unrelated items

Linear One-to-One Queue at a ticket

relationship counter
Hierarchical One-to-Many A family tree,
(Tree) relationship organization chart

Network (Graph) Many-to-Many Communication

relationship network, road map
TYPES OF DATA STRUCTURES
 Classification according to the type of elements:
 Primitive data structure:- basic structures like integer,
character
 Compound data structure:- one which consists of
other structures
 Classification according to the ordering between
them:
 Linear data structure:- elements have a linear order
with first, second and so on
 Non-linear data structure:- ordering is not present
 File structures
 The data structure defined in secondary storage
devices as files
 Recursive data structure
 A data structure partially composed of smaller
instances of the same data structure, e.g. Tree