What is this course about? DATA STRUCTURES & ALGORITHMS Why do we need to know about them? A data structure is an arrangement of data in a computer’s memory. Algorithms provide methods of manipulating the data such as searching for a specific value and sorting the data. Both data structures and algorithms are important considerations in programs using real-world data and as tools in writing programs.
It is the programmer’s decision as to which data structures and which algorithms to choose for each application. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each is the key to efficient programming. Efficiency is a prime consideration in this course.