How to Apply Algorithms and Data Structures in Programming
When I first started learning to code, I thought programming was just about writing instructions to make the computer do what I wanted. And at first, that’s true—just getting your code to run feels like a win. But as I kept learning, especially in structured programming courses, I began to realize how important it is to think about how your code runs, not just that it runs. That’s where algorithms and data structures come in. These concepts are more than textbook terms—they’re essential tools for writing clean, efficient, and scalable code. An algorithm is basically a step-by-step plan to solve a specific problem. You can think of it like a recipe that the computer follows exactly. A data structure is the way we organize and store the data that the algorithm operates on. When you're working on small programs, you might not notice the difference a good algorithm or data structure makes. But as your projects grow or the data gets bigger, bad decisions can really slow things down...