How do different data structures compare in terms of performance?

How do different data structures compare in terms of performance?

Data structures like arrays, linked lists, trees, and hash tables have different performance characteristics. For example, arrays allow for fast access but can be slow for insertions and deletions, while linked lists excel in dynamic memory allocation.

Can you explain the time complexity of these operations for each data structure?

Sure! For arrays, accessing an element is O(1), but inserting or deleting is O(n). Linked lists have O(n) access time, but insertions and deletions are O(1) if you have a pointer to the node. Trees can vary, but balanced trees like AVL have O(log n) for most operations.

What about hash tables? How do they perform?

Hash tables offer average-case O(1) time complexity for insertions, deletions, and lookups, but can degrade to O(n) in the worst case due to collisions.

Which data structure would you recommend for a large dataset?

It depends on the operations you need. If you need fast lookups, a hash table is great. For ordered data, consider a balanced tree. If you need to frequently insert or delete, a linked list might be best.