In conclusion there are many different data structures. Each data structure has strengths and weaknesses which affect performance depending on the task. Today, we explored two data structures: arrays and linked lists. Arrays allow random access and require less memory per element (do not need space for pointers) while lacking efficiency for insertion/deletion operations and memory allocation. On the contrary, linked lists are dynamic and have faster insertion/deletion time complexities. However, linked list have a slower search time and pointers require additional memory per element in the list. Figure 10 below summarizes the strength and weakness of arrays and linked lists.
