MODULE 3

DATA STRUCTURES

What will you learn from this module?

Programs are comprised of two things: data and algorithms. The algorithms describe the way the
data is to be transformed. The reason for learning about data structures is because adding structure
to our data can make the algorithms much simpler, easier to maintain, and often faster.

This module has two lessons:

1. Data Structure Basics

2. Array Data Structures

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LESSON 1

DATA STRUCTURE BASICS

This chapter explains the basic terms related to data structure.

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

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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

LESSON 2

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 ARRAY DATA STRUCTURE
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.

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.

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 Data Type Default Value

bool false

char 0

int 0

float 0.0

double 0.0f

void

wchar_t 0

Traverse Operation

This operation is to traverse through the elements of an array.

Example
Following program traverses and prints the elements of an array:
#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]);
}
}

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

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.

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Here, we see a practical implementation of insertion operation, where we add data at the end of
the array −

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.

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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 Kth position of LA.
1. Start
2. Set J = K
3. Repeat steps 4 and 5 while J < N
4. Set LA[J] = LA[J + 1]
5. Set J = J+1
6. Set N = N-1
7. Stop

Example
Following is the implementation of the above algorithm −
#include <stdio.h>

void 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.

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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>

void 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.

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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 Kth 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>

void 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

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