How do I explain what is data structure to someone who has never programmed before?
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One of the more basic ways to illustrate data structures would be to use everyday things.
For example a diary. It comes in a book with pages separated by dates. And entries written for that day on the page. That is a simple data structure – an agreed upon method to record, store and retrieve data.
If someone creates a list of contacts. A typical way is to manage the list is by last name, first name, phone number, email address. Perhaps in a table. That is a data structure.
For a more complex example, say you want to prepare a meal and use a particular recipe book for the different dishes. So you write a list of recipe names followed by the page number. So this is now a list that instructs you where to find the data in another location – the recipe book – rather than making a copy of the recipe itself. This is also a data structure.
Take this a step further. Say you want to plan out meals for a month. One way would be to take a monthly calendar and on each daily entry you write the name of the recipe book and the page. Now you have an ordered list (by date) pointing you to a variety of lists (different recipe books) and how to locate the data (the page in a specific recipe book). That calendar with the list of entries plus the recipe books constitute a data structure.
Once you strip away all the programming etc, that is basically what data structures are. The formal study of the methods of organizing, storing, retrieving, and locating data.
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