Programming Foundations: Data Structures

Learn about programming with data structures such as arrays, lists, stacks, queues, and hash tables in Python.

Introduction

• Working with data structures
• What you should know

1. Begin with Data Structures

• What is data?
• Introduction to data structures
• Built-in data structures in Python
• Big O notation

2. Arrays

• What is an array?
• Create a list in Python
• Retrieve data from a list in Python
• Mutate a list in Python
• Multidimensional lists
• Tuples in Python
• Search array-like structures
• Sort array-like structures
• Challenge: Find the second smallest item
• Solution: Find the second smallest item
• When to use array-like structures

3. Dictionaries

• What is a dictionary?
• Create a dictionary in Python
• Mutate a dictionary in Python
• Challenge: Drop empty items
• Solution: Drop empty items
• When to use dictionaries

4. Sets

• What is a set?
• Create a set in Python
• Operations on sets in Python
• Immutable sets in Python
• Challenge: Unique characters
• Solution: Unique characters
• When to use sets

5. Queues

• What is a queue?
• Use deque as a queue
• Challenge: Generate binary numbers
• Solution: Generate binary numbers
• When to use queues

6. Stacks

• What is a stack?
• Use a list as a stack
• Use deque as a stack
• Challenge: Matching parentheses
• Solution: Matching parentheses
• When to use stacks

Conclusion

• How to decide which data structure to use