Data structures: arrays, lists, stacks and queues

Learning objectives

Compare static and dynamic data structures on memory allocation, resizing, speed, memory use and flexibility

Construct programs that add, remove, search and traverse elements of one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays, Java ArrayLists and Python lists, using nested loops for two dimensions

Explain the stack as a last-in, first-out structure with push, pop, peek and isEmpty, and apply it to tasks such as undo, bracket matching and backtracking

Explain the queue as a first-in, first-out structure with enqueue, dequeue, front and isEmpty, and apply it to tasks such as print spooling, buffering and scheduling

Evaluate an array, list, stack or queue for a given problem, considering speed of access, memory use and the order in which items must be processed