Editing Data structure (section)

==Usage ==
Data structures serve as the basis for [[abstract data type]]s (ADT). The ADT defines the logical form of the data type. The data structure implements the physical form of the [[data type]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Abstract Data Types|url=https://opendsa-server.cs.vt.edu/ODSA/Books/CS3/html/ADT.html|website=Virginia Tech - CS3 Data Structures & Algorithms|access-date=2023-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210114105/https://opendsa-server.cs.vt.edu/ODSA/Books/CS3/html/ADT.html|archive-date=2023-02-10|url-status=live}}</ref>

Different types of data structures are suited to different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks. For example, [[Relational database|relational databases]] commonly use [[B-tree]] indexes for data retrieval,<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid87_gci1184450,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818140343/http://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid87_gci1184450,00.html|archive-date=2007-08-18|url-status=usurped|title=Beginning Database Design|isbn=978-0-7645-7490-0|author=Gavin Powell|chapter=Chapter 8: Building Fast-Performing Database Models|publisher=[[Wrox Press|Wrox Publishing]]|year=2006}}</ref> while [[compiler]] [[Implementation|implementations]] usually use [[hash table]]s to look up [[Identifier (computer languages)|identifiers]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1.5 Applications of a Hash Table |url=http://www.cs.uregina.ca/Links/class-info/210/Hash/ |website=University of Regina - CS210 Lab: Hash Table |access-date=2018-06-14 |archive-date=2021-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427183057/https://www.cs.uregina.ca/Links/class-info/210/Hash/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Data structures provide a means to manage large amounts of data efficiently for uses such as large [[database]]s and internet indexing services. Usually, efficient data structures are key to designing efficient [[algorithm]]s. Some formal design methods and [[programming language]]s emphasize data structures, rather than algorithms, as the key organizing factor in software design. Data structures can be used to organize the storage and retrieval of information stored in both [[main memory]] and [[Computer data storage|secondary memory]].<ref>{{cite web |title=When data is too big to fit into the main memory | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180410032656/http://homes.sice.indiana.edu/yye/lab/teaching/spring2014-C343/datatoobig.php | url-status=dead | archive-date=2018-04-10 |url=http://homes.sice.indiana.edu/yye/lab/teaching/spring2014-C343/datatoobig.php |website=Indiana University Bloomington - Data Structures (C343/A594)|year=2014}}</ref>