The Essential Algorithms and Data Structures

Imagine you walk into work and your boss says, "I just got a list of 2 billion numbers, can you sort them for me as soon as possible. "You might be shocked and wonder where to even start the problem. Do you try and do it all by hand and spend the next couple years trying to sort even a small fraction of the values.

Or is there some better way. The Essential Algorithms and Data Structures is the most comprehensive course on the topic on Udemy and together we will learn how to solve problems like these and even more complicated problems. Algorithms are a guaranteed way of solving a type of problem that works in a predictable fashion with the data.

Algorithms like sorting algorithms can be used to sort 10 values or a billion values and won't need any modifications to work with either set. Other algorithms allow us to efficiently search a set of data or find the lowest cost option to connect a series of points on a graph. Algorithms are like blueprints that we use to solve problems in our programs.

Data structures are unique ways of storing data that are optimized for certain situations. Data structures like a priority queue allow us to model how a CPU processes requests, or how to efficiently model a set of cities and interconnecting flights. Choosing a good data structure to store data can make programs millions of times faster than a bad choice.