NIST

data structure

(definition)

Definition: An organization of information, usually in memory, for better algorithm efficiency, such as queue, stack, linked list, heap, dictionary, and tree, or conceptual unity, such as the name and address of a person. It may include redundant information, such as length of the list or number of nodes in a subtree.

Specialization (... is a kind of me.)
external memory data structure, concurrent data structure, passive data structure, active data structure, persistent data structure, recursive data structure, compact data structure.

See also abstract data type.

Note: Most data structures have associated algorithms to perform operations, such as search, insert, or balance, that maintain the properties of the data structure.

Author: PEB


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Entry modified 20 September 2024.
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Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "data structure", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed. 20 September 2024. (accessed TODAY) Available from: https://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/dataStructure.html