Data Structures by Hand: Arrays, Stacks, Queues & Ring Buffers, Linked Lists, Binary Heaps, Search Trees and Sorting Passes
Watch the classic data structures work, one operation per row. You will simulate a stack and a queue with pointer cells, wrap a ring buffer with MOD, follow next-pointers through a linked list, keep a binary heap in an array with parent and child indices, insert keys into a search tree, run bubble and insertion sort pass by pass and count the work each structure needs, with every cell checked as you go.
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About this course
This course shows how the classic data structures work, one operation per row of a spreadsheet. You read arrays by 0-based index and count the shifts of an insert, replay a push/pop log with a top pointer and MAXIFS, wrap a ring-buffer queue around with MOD and flag full and empty states. You follow next-pointers through a linked list with INDEX and MATCH, keep a min-heap in an array and sift a new key up with INT((i − 1)/2), place a key in a binary search tree and compare balanced and degenerate shapes. Finally you run bubble and insertion sort pass by pass, merge two sorted runs and pick the structure with the fewest total steps using SUMPRODUCT.
Lessons
- Arrays and Indices: Positions from 0, Reading by Index, Element Addresses and the Cost of Inserting Pro
- Stacks: a Push/Pop Log, the Top Pointer per Step, the Value on Top and Balanced Brackets Pro
- Queues and Ring Buffers: Head and Tail Pointers, Wrap-Around with MOD, Full and Empty Flags Pro
- Linked Lists: Value and Next-Pointer Columns, Walking the List, Inserting by Re-Pointing Pro
- Binary Heaps: a Tree Stored in an Array, Parent and Child Indices, Sift-Up Step by Step Pro
- Binary Search Trees: Levels of the Nodes, the Path of Comparisons for a New Key, Balanced vs Degenerate Pro
- Sorting Passes: Bubble Sort Pass by Pass, Swaps per Pass, Insertion Shifts and the Merge Step Pro
- Capstone – Pick the Structure: Steps per Operation, Total Steps for a Workload, the Winner and a Chart Pro