Data Structures & Algorithm Basic Concepts
Data Definition
Data Definition defines a particular data with the following characteristics.
● Atomic − Definition should define a single concept.
● Traceable − Definition should be able to be mapped to some data element.
● Accurate − Definition should be unambiguous.
● Clear and Concise − Definition should be understandable.
Data Object
Data Object represents an object having a data.
Data Type
Data type is a way to classify various types of data such as integer, string, etc. which
determines the values that can be used with the corresponding type of data, the type of
operations that can be performed on the corresponding type of data. There are two data
types −
● Built-in Data Type
● Derived Data Type
Built-in Data Type
Those data types for which a language has built-in support are known as Built-in Data
types. For example, most of the languages provide the following built-in data types.
● Integers
● Boolean (true, false)
● Floating (Decimal numbers)
● Character and Strings
Derived Data Type
Those data types which are implementation independent as they can be implemented in
one or the other way are known as derived data types. These data types are normally
built by the combination of primary or built-in data types and associated operations on
them. For example −
● List
● Array
● Stack
● Queue
Basic Operations
The data in the data structures are processed by certain operations. The particular data
structure chosen largely depends on the frequency of the operation that needs to be
performed on the data structure.
● Traversing
● Searching
● Insertion
● Deletion
● Sorting
● Merging
Data Structures and Algorithms - Arrays
Array is a container which can hold a fix number of items and these items should be of
the same type. Most of the data structures make use of arrays to implement their
algorithms. Following are the important terms to understand the concept of Array.
● Element − Each item stored in an array is called an element.
● Index − Each location of an element in an array has a numerical index, which is
used to identify the element.
Array Representation
Arrays can be declared in various ways in different languages. For illustration, let's take
C array declaration.
As per the above illustration, following are the important points to be considered.
● Index starts with 0.
● Array length is 10 which means it can store 10 elements.
● Each element can be accessed via its index. For example, we can fetch an
element at index 6 as 9.
Basic Operations
Following are the basic operations supported by an array.
● Traverse − print all the array elements one by one.
● Insertion − Adds an element at the given index.
● Deletion − Deletes an element at the given index.
● Search − Searches an element using the given index or by the value.
● Update − Updates an element at the given index.
In C, when an array is initialized with size, then it assigns defaults values to its elements
in following order.
Data Type Default Value
bool false
char 0
int 0
float 0.0
double 0.0f
void
wchar_t 0
Insertion Operation
Insert operation is to insert one or more data elements into an array. Based on the
requirement, a new element can be added at the beginning, end, or any given index of
array.
Here, we see a practical implementation of insertion operation, where we add data at the
end of the array −
Algorithm
Let Array be a linear unordered array of MAX elements.
Example
Result
Let LA be a Linear Array (unordered) with N elements and K is a positive integer such
that K<=N. Following is the algorithm where ITEM is inserted into the K th position of
LA −
1. Start
2. Set J = N
3. Set N = N+1
4. Repeat steps 5 and 6 while J >= K
5. Set LA[J+1] = LA[J]
6. Set J = J-1
7. Set LA[K] = ITEM
8. Stop
Example
Following is the implementation of the above algorithm −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int LA[] = {1,3,5,7,8};
int item = 10, k = 3, n = 5;
int i = 0, j = n;
printf("The original array elements are :\n");
for(i = 0; i<n; i++) {
printf("LA[%d] = %d \n", i, LA[i]);
}
n = n + 1;
while( j >= k) {
LA[j+1] = LA[j];
j = j - 1;
}
LA[k] = item;
printf("The array elements after insertion :\n");
for(i = 0; i<n; i++) {
printf("LA[%d] = %d \n", i, LA[i]);
}
}
When we compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Output
The original array elements are :
LA[0] = 1
LA[1] = 3
LA[2] = 5
LA[3] = 7
LA[4] = 8
The array elements after insertion :
LA[0] = 1
LA[1] = 3
LA[2] = 5
LA[3] = 10
LA[4] = 7
LA[5] = 8
Deletion Operation
Deletion refers to removing an existing element from the array and re-organizing all
elements of an array.
Algorithm
Consider LA is a linear array with N elements and K is a positive integer such
that K<=N. Following is the algorithm to delete an element available at the K thposition
of LA.
1. Start
2. Set J = K
3. Repeat steps 4 and 5 while J < N
4. Set LA[J-1] = LA[J]
5. Set J = J+1
6. Set N = N-1
7. Stop
Example
Following is the implementation of the above algorithm −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int LA[] = {1,3,5,7,8};
int k = 3, n = 5;
int i, j;
printf("The original array elements are :\n");
for(i = 0; i<n; i++) {
printf("LA[%d] = %d \n", i, LA[i]);
}
j = k;
while( j < n) {
LA[j-1] = LA[j];
j = j + 1;
}
n = n -1;
printf("The array elements after deletion :\n");
for(i = 0; i<n; i++) {
printf("LA[%d] = %d \n", i, LA[i]);
}
}
When we compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Output
The original array elements are :
LA[0] = 1
LA[1] = 3
LA[2] = 5
LA[3] = 7
LA[4] = 8
The array elements after deletion :
LA[0] = 1
LA[1] = 3
LA[2] = 7
LA[3] = 8
Search Operation
You can perform a search for an array element based on its value or its index.
Algorithm
Consider LA is a linear array with N elements and K is a positive integer such
that K<=N. Following is the algorithm to find an element with a value of ITEM using
sequential search.
1. Start
2. Set J = 0
3. Repeat steps 4 and 5 while J < N
4. IF LA[J] is equal ITEM THEN GOTO STEP 6
5. Set J = J +1
6. PRINT J, ITEM
7. Stop
Example
Following is the implementation of the above algorithm −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int LA[] = {1,3,5,7,8};
int item = 5, n = 5;
int i = 0, j = 0;
printf("The original array elements are :\n");
for(i = 0; i<n; i++) {
printf("LA[%d] = %d \n", i, LA[i]);
}
while( j < n){
if( LA[j] == item ) { break; }
j = j + 1;
}
printf("Found element %d at position %d\n", item, j+1);
}
When we compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Output
The original array elements are :
LA[0] = 1
LA[1] = 3
LA[2] = 5
LA[3] = 7
LA[4] = 8
Found element 5 at position 3
Update Operation
Update operation refers to updating an existing element from the array at a given index.
Algorithm
Consider LA is a linear array with N elements and K is a positive integer such
that K<=N. Following is the algorithm to update an element available at the K th position
of LA.
1. Start
2. Set LA[K-1] = ITEM
3. Stop
Example
Following is the implementation of the above algorithm −
#include <stdio.h>
main() {
int LA[] = {1,3,5,7,8};
int k = 3, n = 5, item = 10;
int i, j;
printf("The original array elements are :\n");
for(i = 0; i<n; i++) {
printf("LA[%d] = %d \n", i, LA[i]);
}
LA[k-1] = item;
printf("The array elements after updation :\n");
for(i = 0; i<n; i++) {
printf("LA[%d] = %d \n", i, LA[i]);
}
}
When we compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result −
Output
The original array elements are :
LA[0] = 1
LA[1] = 3
LA[2] = 5
LA[3] = 7
LA[4] = 8
The array elements after updation :
LA[0] = 1
LA[1] = 3
LA[2] = 10
LA[3] = 7
LA[4] = 8