C Data Structures

C data structures

Created By: chatGPT

In C programming, a data structure is a way of organizing and storing data that enables efficient access and modification. C provides several built-in data structures, but you can also create your own. Here are some of the most common data structures in C:

Arrays: An array is a collection of items stored at contiguous memory locations. It is defined by specifying the type of the elements and the number of elements in the array.

int numbers[10]; // An array of 10 integers

Structures: A structure in C allows you to group different types of data together. You can define a structure using the struct keyword.

struct Person {
    char name[50];
    int age;
};

Unions: A union is similar to a structure but allows you to store different data types in the same memory location, effectively allowing multiple data types to be stored in a single variable.

union Data {
    int intValue;
    float floatValue;
};

Linked Lists: A linked list is a collection of nodes where each node contains data and a pointer to the next node in the sequence. It allows for efficient insertion and deletion of elements.

struct Node {
    int data;
    struct Node* next;
};

Stacks: A stack is a Last In First Out (LIFO) data structure. It allows operations such as push (insert an element) and pop (remove the top element).

struct Stack {
    int top;
    unsigned capacity;
    int* array;
};

Queues: A queue is a First In First Out (FIFO) data structure that allows elements to be added at the back and removed from the front.

struct Queue {
    int front, rear, size;
    unsigned capacity;
    int* array;
};

Graphs: A graph data structure consists of nodes (vertices) connected by edges. It's often used to represent networks, such as social networks or computer networks.

struct Graph {
    int numVertices;
    struct Node** adjLists;
};

Trees: A tree is a hierarchical data structure with a root value and subtrees of children, represented as a set of linked nodes. They are commonly used for hierarchical data representation.

struct TreeNode {
    int data;
    struct TreeNode* left;
    struct TreeNode* right;
};

Choosing the appropriate data structure can greatly affect the efficiency of your program. Always consider the trade-offs between memory usage and operation speed when working with different data structures.