Organize Your Data Like a Pro

1-Minute Engineering on Data Types — Edition #14

A Data Structure is a concrete implementation of an Abstract Data Type that stores and organizes data using specific algorithms and memory management.

It’s a way to organize your data so that it can be used efficiently.

The most common example of data structure, available in all programming languages, is the array. Arrays provide a way to store multiple values in a single, indexed collection, making them universally supported across languages, whether in low-level language (like C) or high-level language (like Swift).

The focus is on how the data is stored and manipulated. Different implementations of the same Abstract Data Type may use different Data Structures and Data Types.

For example, in Swift, you could implement a generic Stack using an array for fast access or a double-linked list for efficient insertions and deletions.

A Stack implementation backed by a Double-Linked List.

Software engineers love solving complex problems, and to do so, you must organize your data. A Data Structure provides a logical way of storing data and a mechanism for retrieving it.

Different data structures are suited to different applications. Below are examples of other common data structures you may or may not have learned in school.

Linear Data Structures:

• Array ( or List, or Vector, or Slice)

• Tuple (or Record)

• Linked List

• Double Linked List

• Stack

• Queue

• Deque (or Double-Ended Queue)

Associative Data Structures:

• Dictionary (or HashMap)

• Set (or HashSet)

Hierarchical Data Structures:

• Tree

• Heap (or Priority Queue)

Graph Data Structures:

• Graph

• Digraph (Directed Graph)

These fundamental data structures provide the building blocks for solving problems efficiently, but sometimes, the best approach is to create a custom data structure tailored to your specific needs.

—Alex