Implement Data Structures

Discuss why it is important to learn how to implement data structures, even though the STL is available. Identify advantages of knowing data structures in detail.

And respond to these two duscussion posts.

From Chris

It is very important to learn and understand data structures it is the baseline, the tools of the Standard Template Library are simply designed to handle user specific datatypes. STL is comprised of containers, iterators and algorithms for the purpose to make the coders life a bit easier, instead of having to hand-code nearly everything. It is a good practice to use the STL wherever available but some instances call for hand-coding. If you don't have the experience to do so that's not good, so understanding data structure and how to create and use them is a huge benefit.

Chris

From Tanner

This is an excellent question! When using C++, the STL may not always be available, particularly when working with embedded systems. In these instances it may be up to you to design an efficient data structure to work the data. Besides being put into a situation where you need to implement things yourself, it's also very useful to have a good understanding of how different data structures work so that when you're put into a situation where you need to squeeze every ounce of performance out of your good, you can effectively choose the best data structures to use.