welcome

This book is written for beginners in the field of algorithms and data structures. We will describe data structures in a language-independent way, but to take full advantage of the code examples, readers will want to be familiar with some of the core concepts in programming, such as conditionals or loops, object-oriented programming (OOP), and ideally have a basic knowledge of Python, the programming language used in this book.

Ever since I was a student, data structures and algorithms have been the most fascinating area of computer science for me, and I hope that this book can convey even a small part of my enthusiasm to you. Why do I love data structures? Perhaps it is because I feel that algorithms are a kind of universal language, transcending any single programming language. Or maybe because finding the best data structures and algorithms to use has always seemed like solving a challenging puzzle.

Certainly, today you have even more reasons to study this subject. In the last 25 years, the world and the software engineering landscape have changed dramatically.

This book will show you how to use data structures properly and avoid the beginner's mistakes that can make your code painfully slow, your application unusable, or even a security risk.