The 5 Ingenious Data Structures (and What They Actually Do)

The B-Tree is a data structure built to handle huge datasets. The Radix Tree is an efficient way to look up text in a database. The Bloom Filter is a way to search for text in complex data.

Anyone who’s ever used a keyboard trying to get stuff done on a computer should know the seven foundational data structures of computer science: arrays, linked lists, hash tables, stacks, queues, graphs, and trees. They’re the building blocks, the ABCs of how we organize data.

If you somehow missed the basic rundown on how computers actually work, here’s the quick version: a data structure is just a way to organize data so computer can efficiently create, read, update, and delete it (CRUD, for the cool kids).

• An array is like a row of numbered cubbies.
• A linked list is a treasure map where ...