Data Structures in java: overview

What is Data Structure?

The data structure name indicates itself that organizing the data in memory. There are many ways of organizing the data in the memory as we have already seen one of the data structures, i.e., array in C language. Array is a collection of memory elements in which data is stored sequentially, i.e., one after another. In other words, we can say that array stores the elements in a continuous manner. This organization of data is done with the help of an array of data structures. There are also other ways to organize the data in memory. Let's see the different types of data structures. The data structure is not any programming language like C, C++, java, etc. It is a set of algorithms that we can use in any programming language to structure the data in the memory.

Types of Data Structures in Java

Java API provides built-in support for common data structures which are of two types:

1. Primitive Data Structures

These are basic data structures and are used only for basic operations. Integers, Floating, Numbers, Strings, Characters, Pointers fall in this category data structures.

2. Non-Primitive Data Structures

These are complex data structures and are meant to perform complex operations related to data. Non-Primitive data structures are derived from primitive data structures. Non-primitive data structures can be broadly divided into two sub-categories, linear data structures, and non-linear data structures. Array, Linked List, Stack, Queue fall in the category of linear data structures whereas trees and graphs fall in the non-linear data structure category. Now we will explain each data structure in detail:

3. Array

An array can be defined as a collection of homogenous elements. An array is a fixed-sized static data structure. Each individual item of an array is called an element. An array in java can have any valid data type available in a java programming language. All elements in the array are identified by the same variable name but each element has a unique index through which its value can be stored or retrieved. An array is java can be one-dimensional, two-dimensional, or multi-dimensional. Individual elements of an array having variable name arr and having size 10 are as follows: arr [0], arr [1], arr [2], arr [3]……………………, arr [9].

4. Linked List

Linked list maintains a list in memory and is a collection of elements called nodes. This is a dynamic data structure that is its size is not fixed. Linked list has a head node and a tail node and each available node in a linked list contain a pointer to its adjacent node. It is to be noted that nodes of a linked list are present at non-contiguous locations in memory.

5. Stack

It is a dynamic data structure in which insertion of a new element and deletion of an existing element is allowed to be done only at one end. It follows the Last in First out Strategy (LIFO). The stack can be implemented in most programming languages and hence it is considered as an abstract data type (ADT).

6. Queue

This is also an abstract data type like stack and can be implemented in most programming languages. This is a dynamic data structure that follows the first in first out (FIFO) strategy which means an element that is inserted first will be removed first. The queue has two ends named front end and rear ends. In a queue, insertion can be done at the rear end and deletion can be done at the front end.

7. Tree

Tree data structure is based on the parent-child relationship. These are multilevel data structures made up of a collection of elements called nodes. Nodes in a tree data structure maintain hierarchical relationships among them. The topmost node of a tree is called the root node and the bottommost nodes are called the leaf nodes. Each node in a tree contains pointers to adjacent nodes. Each available node in a tree can have more than one child with the exception being the leaf node whereas each node can have at most one parent node except the root node which is the only parent of all nodes available in Tree.

8. Graphs

This data structure contains elements based on pictorial representation. Each individual element present in the graph is represented by a vertex. Elements in a graph data structure are connected to each other via links called edges. The major difference between graph and tree is that the former data structure can contain a cycle whereas later cannot contain a cycle.

Advantages of Data Structures in java

The following are the main advantages of using data structures:

• Efficiency
• Reusability
• Abstraction
• Fast Processing Speed
• Easy Searching
• Serving multiple requests with Ease.

Disadvantages of data structure in java

• An application using data structure requires highly qualified professional resource to manage the operations related to data structure. For example, consider the array example that we explained above. If we need to get the elements of the above array in ascending or descending order then we must know sorting technique algorithms like insertion sort, bubble sort, etc. Or a good coder will also be able to design their own sorting algorithm. Similarly there may be other complex operations to be performed which may require dedicated professional.
• Bigger the application or data structure involved in creating and maintaining application more is the requirement of man power. This can increase maintaining data structure costs. For example, we have several data structure available like array, queue, stack, linked list, tree, graph, etc. Bigger the application is more the amount of such data structures will be involved. Thus you may need several professional to create and maintain the application.
• Designing your own data structure may involve complex algorithm and may require lot of time and testing to conclude they are full-proof and ready to use for organization purpose. This again will come with increase cost. And after development is complete it may be found that the new data structure designed is not that effective as was expected.

Conclusion

From the above article, we have a reasonable prologue to information structures in java. Utilizing information structures make complex assignment simple in a framework. Additionally, we enjoy seen various benefits of utilizing information structures.