Data Structure Comparison (Detailed Guide)
Array
How It Works: Fixed-size collection stored in contiguous memory.
Advantages: Fast access (O(1)), cache friendly.
Disadvantages: Insertion/deletion costly (O(n)), fixed size.
Applications: Lookup tables, matrices, static data.
Big-O: Access O(1), Search O(n), Insert/Delete O(n).
Linked List
How It Works: Nodes linked with pointers (singly, doubly, or circular).
Advantages: Dynamic size, efficient insert/delete at ends.
Disadvantages: Extra memory for pointers, slow access O(n).
Applications: Undo/redo, hash chaining, memory management.
Big-O: Access O(n), Insert/Delete O(1) at head.
Stack
How It Works: LIFO (Last In, First Out).
Advantages: Simple, efficient push/pop.
Disadvantages: Limited access (only top element).
Applications: Expression evaluation, backtracking, recursion.
Big-O: Push/Pop O(1).
Queue
How It Works: FIFO (First In, First Out).
Advantages: Efficient scheduling, fair order.
Disadvantages: Limited random access.
Applications: OS scheduling, buffering, BFS.
Big-O: Enqueue/Dequeue O(1).
Hash Table
How It Works: Keys mapped to indices by a hash function.
Advantages: Very fast average search/insert (O(1)).
Disadvantages: Collisions can degrade to O(n), memory overhead.
Applications: Databases, caches, dictionaries.
Big-O: Average O(1), Worst O(n).
Binary Search Tree (BST)
How It Works: Binary tree where left < root < right.
Advantages: Efficient search if balanced.
Disadvantages: Can degrade to linked list if unbalanced.
Applications: Searching, sorting, sets.
Big-O: Balanced: O(log n); Skewed: O(n).
AVL Tree
How It Works: Self-balancing BST.
Advantages: Always balanced, guarantees O(log n) ops.
Disadvantages: More rotations needed on updates.
Applications: Databases, search-intensive systems.
Big-O: Search/Insert/Delete O(log n).
Red-Black Tree
How It Works: Balanced BST with color rules.
Advantages: Fewer rotations, efficient balance.
Disadvantages: Slightly slower lookups than AVL.
Applications: Linux kernel, Java Collections.
Big-O: Search/Insert/Delete O(log n).
Heap (Min/Max)
How It Works: Complete binary tree with heap property.
Advantages: Fast min/max retrieval.
Disadvantages: Not good for arbitrary search.
Applications: Priority queues, heapsort.
Big-O: Insert/Delete O(log n).
Trie
How It Works: Tree structure storing strings by prefix.
Advantages: Fast prefix search.
Disadvantages: High memory usage.
Applications: Autocomplete, spell check, IP routing.
Big-O: Search/Insert O(L), L=length of word.
Graph
How It Works: Vertices connected by edges.
Advantages: Models complex relationships.
Disadvantages: Memory-heavy for dense graphs.
Applications: Networks, routing, social media.
Big-O: BFS/DFS O(V+E).
Skip List
How It Works: Layered linked list with probabilistic jumps.
Advantages: Search in O(log n).
Disadvantages: Requires randomness, more pointers.
Applications: In-memory databases (e.g. Redis).
Big-O: Search/Insert/Delete O(log n).
Disjoint Set (Union-Find)
How It Works: Tracks connected components.
Advantages: Extremely fast union/find.
Disadvantages: Limited to connectivity problems.
Applications: Kruskal’s MST, clustering.
Big-O: O(α(n)) ≈ constant time.
Segment Tree
How It Works: Binary tree for storing intervals/ranges.
Advantages: Fast range queries and updates.
Disadvantages: Complex, high memory usage.
Applications: Range sums, min/max, competitive programming.
Big-O: Query/Update O(log n).
Fenwick Tree (BIT)
How It Works: Compact tree for prefix sums.
Advantages: Less memory than Segment Tree.
Disadvantages: Limited to cumulative queries.
Applications: Competitive programming.
Big-O: Update/Query O(log n).
Bloom Filter
How It Works: Probabilistic bit array with multiple hash functions.
Advantages: Very space-efficient, fast.
Disadvantages: False positives possible.
Applications: Spam filtering, cache lookups.
Big-O: Insert/Search O(k), k=hash functions.
