We all like it when things are easier to do, right? I do. The way you contain and organize your data helps determine how easily you can do certain tasks. So data structures help you store multiple values, right? What’s special about that? This allows you to keep the data together as you pass it around your program and do different things with it. It’s because data structures can hold more than a single value, organize that data, and allows you, dear developer, to perform operations on them. So if variables and constants store data, why aren’t they data structures? I’ll spare you the snark this time it was too obvious. As their name implies, the value that a variable contains can be changed, or varied - see what I did there? Constants are like variables because they store a value, but can’t be changed. Okay, so one of the first things you learn when starting to code is how to store data, usually a simple value like a string or number, in a variable. Simple, right? But what does that actually mean? The “tl dr” version is that data structures are ways to store data. So, What the Heck Are Data Structures Exactly? What you should aim for is to have a good understanding of what data structures are, which ones are “must-know,” be familiar with some uncommon ones, and know how to compare them so you pick the best solution. In all honesty, however, you probably don’t have to dive into the nitty-gritty details underlying each data structure. If you haven’t started your self-teaching (or other means, I’m not judging) journey yet, this post might help you get started. Given the title of this post, naturally, I’ll be talking about data structures. These two topics typify a computer science education to those who don’t have one. The two concepts that seem to cause the most feelings of inadequacy in beginners are data structures and algorithms.
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