Pluralsight - Algorithms And Data Structures (Part 1

In this course we will look at the core data structures and algorithms used in everyday applications. We will discuss the trade-offs involved with choosing each data structure, along with traversal, retrieval, and update algorithms. This is part 1 of a two-part series of courses covering algorithms and data structures. In this part we cover linked lists, stacks, queues, binary trees, and hash tables.

Pluralsight - Algorithms and Data Structures (Part 1

Data structures allow you to efficiently manage large amounts of data, which is key to designing an efficient algorithm, such as an internet indexing service. Ultimately data structures are a way of organizing and storing data so it can be used more efficiently.

In this course, you will look at the core data structures and algorithms that are the building blocks of applications everywhere. You will learn how they work and see real-world examples that you can apply to your next project.

You will learn the trade-offs involved with choosing each data structure, along with traversal, retrieval, and update algorithms. This is part 1 of a two-part series of courses covering algorithms and data structures.

Being an intermediate-level course, you may need to bring some Java knowledge into this data structures training. However, there are tons of relearning challenges and opportunities, so if you feel a little rusty, you can still comfortably take this data structures course.

With more emphasis on creative practice challenges, it may not be suitable for beginners seeking a theoretical foundation. Even so, it is the best data structures course online if you have the necessary knowledge and want to quickly build data structures from the ground up.

As a prerequisite, this course requires basic to intermediate Python skills. It remains one of the best data structures courses on Udemy for aspiring data scientists, because you get beginner-friendly information on preparing for interviews and creating incredible CVs.

This course discusses a lot more mathematical concepts than you would expect of a typical cryptography class, so you may need to brush up on your math. However, it is the best data structures course online because it derives its examples from the real world and goes into excellent detail.

I remember, very clearly, in the data structures class, learning about linked-lists. I remember the realm of possibilities that I saw when introduced to this data structure. This really very simple data structure showed me tremendous power as a flexible, reusable foundational element, that dwarfed arrays and the other tools I knew at the time. Linked lists showed me how I could hold the same values as I held in an array with addition metadata that gave me the tools to access the values in a different way, in a way that made more sense for the use-case. I saw in these structures a tool I could use to build reusable frameworks that could operate on data in a way that was much more use-case specific. For example, I could use linked-lists to create a queue structure. Then, if the use-case dictated, I could extend that structure to hold a priority and make the queue priority based. These things, while possible just using flat arrays, were much more difficult and harder to reuse. Other structures like binary-trees had impact on me as well, but nothing like the fundamental power of the linked-list.

I remember, in the discreet math class, learning about algorithms that were, in effect, practical uses of math for programmers. Although that class was not officially geared towards programmers, it was very easy to see why it was a core requirement for the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences. I remember learning about various sorting algorithms and encryption methods, optimum path algorithms and best-fit criteria. Basically, I learned ways of applying mathematics to everyday problems I faced when writing code. As with the data structures class, my horizons were significantly expanded by this knowledge and I have used these tools, and my understanding of these tools, to some degree every day since.