Programming Foundations: Data Structures

Once you get past simplistic computer programs with one or two variables, you'll use a data structure to store the values—and groups of values— in your applications. While they are sometimes taken for granted in modern programming environments, a deeper understanding of data structures is vital for any programmer who wants to know what's going on "under the hood" and understand how to defend the choices they've made for performance and efficiency. Simon Allardice offers that understanding to you in this Foundations of Programming course.

Starting with simple ways of grouping data like arrays and structs, together you'll explore gradually more complex data structures, like dictionaries, sets, hash tables, queues and stacks, links and linked lists, and trees and graphs. Simon keeps the lessons grounded in the real world and answers the "why" behind many data-structuring decisions: Why use a hash table? Why is a set useful? Why avoid arrays? When you're finished with the course, you'll have a clear understanding of data structures and understand how to use them in whatever language you're programming in, today or 5 years from now.

Topics include:

• What is a data structure?
• Using C-style structs and arrays
• Sorting and searching arrays
• Working with singly and doubly linked lists
• Using stacks for last-in, first-out (LIFO) structures
• Using queues for first-in, first-out (FIFO) structures
• Working with hash tables
• Understanding binary search trees (BSTs)
• Learning about graphs