CSC301: Data Structures Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the Data Structures lecture.

Data Structure

The logical or mathematical model of a particular organization of data.

Primitive Data Structures

Fundamental data types supported by a programming language, such as integer, real, character, and Boolean.

Non-Primitive Data Structures

Data structures created using primitive data structures, such as arrays, linked lists, queues, stacks, trees, and graphs.

Linear Data Structure

A data structure where elements are arranged in a linear sequence or list.

Non-Linear Data Structure

Data structure in which data elements are not stored sequentially.

Array

A collection of elements identified by an index or key.

Stack

A Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) data structure where insertions and deletions occur at one end called the top.

Queue

A First-In-First-Out (FIFO) data structure where insertions occur at the rear and deletions at the front.

Graph

A collection of nodes and edges, which can be directed or undirected.

Pointer

A variable that holds the memory address of another variable.

Record

A collection of fields that are associated with an entity.

Entity

Something in a database that has attributes and can be identified.

Field

A single unit of information representing an attribute of an entity.

Big-O Notation

A mathematical notation describing the upper limit of the runtime of an algorithm.

Node

An item of information in a tree or linked list.

Binary Tree

A tree in which each node has at most two children.

Traversal

The process of visiting each node in a data structure.

Searching

The process of locating a node with a specific key value in a data structure.

Insertion

Adding a new node to a data structure.

Deletion

Removing a node from a data structure.

Linked List

A linear data structure where elements are stored in nodes and each node points to the next.

Linked List Variations

Types of linked lists include singly linked list, doubly linked list, circular linked list, and circular doubly linked list.

Algorithm

A step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or completing a task.