Breaking Down Your Understanding:
- Data Type (Value Type)
- A data type defines what kind of data a variable can store.
- It is strongly typed in languages like Java, meaning each variable has a specific type (e.g.,
int
,float
,String
). - Types of Data Types:
- Primitive Data Types (Defined by the language):
int
,double
,char
,boolean
. - User-Defined Data Types (Created by the programmer):
class
,enum
,interface
,record
.
- Primitive Data Types (Defined by the language):
- Data Structure (A Special Kind of Data Type)
- A data structure is also a data type, but it defines how data is stored and organized.
- Every data structure is a user-defined data type (e.g.,
Stack
,Queue
,List
). - A data structure is more than just a valueβit also includes operations on that data (like
push()
,pop()
,insert()
,delete()
).
Final Statement (General Rule):
β Every Data Structure is a Data Type, but Not Every Data Type is a Data Structure.
Stack
,Queue
,Tree
β Both Data Structure & Data Type βint
,double
,boolean
β Data Type but NOT a Data Structure β
πΉ Example in Java:
// Primitive Data Type (Not a Data Structure)
int x = 10; // Just a value, no structure
// User-Defined Data Type (Also a Data Structure)
class Stack {
private int[] arr = new int[10];
private int top = -1;
void push(int value) { arr[++top] = value; }
int pop() { return arr[top--]; }
}
β
Stack
is both a Data Structure and a User-Defined Data Type.