1. Introduction

To process data efficiently it needs to be organised and this is achieved by using data structures.

The standard data structures used by programmers include:

• lists (including special ones such as linked lists, trees, stacks, queues)
• objects (in object orientated languages for example)
• records
• array
• tuples
• dictionaries
• files and folders (in secondary storage)

The AQA syllabus specifically covers arrays and records. We have separate section for these two types - here.

However, this section will briefly discuss some of the other types of data structures as you may find them useful to know about.