COMPUTER PROGRAMMING

 Learning Outcome 1:
Understand the differences between
common programming languages
  DEFINITIONS
 Computer program
 Computer programmer
 Computer programming
 Common programming languages
Java
C
 C++
 Python
PHP
 Perl
 Ruby
  Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions
written using a Computer Programming Language to
perform a specified task by the computer.
OR
A Computer program is a sequence of symbols that
specifies a computation.
 The two important terms that we have used in the
above definition are:
1. Sequence of instructions
2. Computer Programming Language
 Computer Programmer
Computer programmer is Someone who can write
computer programs or in other words, someone
who can do computer programming.
 Computer programming(Language)
A Computer programming language is an artificial language
designed to communicate instructions to a machine,
particularly a computer.
Programming languages can be used to create programs
that control the behaviour of a machine and/or to express
algorithms.
Any programming language is composed of a set of
predefined words that are combined according to
predefined rules (syntax) to generate a computer program.
 The concepts of parsing and
tokenisation, byte-code, assembly
language, source code, machine
code
 The concepts of parsing and
tokenisation
 Parsing
Parsing is a frequently used term both in the realm of data
quality, and in computing in general.
It can mean anything from simply 'breaking up data' to full
Natural Language Parsing (NLP), which uses sophisticated artificial
intelligence to allow computers to 'understand' human language.
Parsing is designed to be used by developers of data quality
processes to create packaged parsers for the understanding and
transformation of specific types of data –
For example Names data, Address data, or Product Descriptions.
 Tokenisation
 Tokenization is the act of breaking up a sequence of strings
into pieces such as words, keywords, phrases, symbols and
other elements called tokens.
 Tokenization is used in computer science, where it plays a
large part in the process of lexical analysis.
 In the process of tokenization, some characters like
punctuation marks are discarded. The tokens become the
input for another process like parsing and text mining.
 Tokens themselves can also be separators. For example, in
most programming languages, identifiers can be placed
together with arithmetic operators without white spaces.
 A token is a piece of data that is recognized as a unit by the
Parse processor using rules
  Byte-code
 Bytecode are a type of programming language that fall under the
categories of both compiled and interpreted languages because they
employ both compilation and interpretation to execute code.
 Java and the .Net framework are easily the most common examples of
bytecode languages.
 In a bytecode language, the first step is to compile the current program
from its human-readable language into bytecode.
 Bytecode is a form of instruction set that is designed to be efficiently
executed by an interpreter and is composed of compact numeric codes,
constants, and memory references.
 The largest benefit of bytecode languages is platform independence
which is typically only available to interpreted languages,
 Bytecode can also make use of this technique to enhance execution speed
  Assembly language,
Assembly language is a low-level programming language for
a computer, or other programmable device, in which there is a
very strong correspondence between the language and
the architecture's machine code instructions.
Assembly language is converted into executable machine code
by a utility program referred to as an assembler
Assembly Language introduced a mnemonic representation,
using symbols such as ADD, MOV or POP to use rather than
the binary codes.
  Source code
Source code is any collection of computer instructions, possibly
with comments, written using a human-readable programming
language, usually as plain text (i.e., human readable alphanumeric
characters).
The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the
work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be
performed by a computer mostly by writing source code.
The source code is often transformed by
an assembler or compiler into binary machine code understood by
the computer.
The machine code might then be stored for execution at a later
time. Alternatively, source code may be interpreted and thus
immediately executed.
  Machine code
Machine code or machine language is a set
of instructions executed directly by a computer's central
processing unit (CPU).
The CPU loads in one instruction at a time, and executes that
instruction. The next instruction in sequence is then loaded in.
Each instruction is represented as a fixed number of bits (in early
days, 8 bits were used, although currently 64 bit instructions are
common).
The first 4 bits represented the operator (
• e.g., 00 for NOOP, 01 for ADD, 02 for MOV, etc.
The remaining 4 bits represent the data to operate on.
• e.g. 01 01 Add 1 to the current sum.
 The role of the compiler in
terms of input, output, and
intermediate representations
 A compiler is a special program that processes statements written in a
particular programming language and turns them into machine language or
"code" that a computer's processor uses.
 Typically, a programmer writes language statements in a language such
as Pascal or C one line at a time using an editor.
 Traditionally, the output of the compilation has been called object code or
sometimes an object module.
 The object code is machine code that the processor can execute one
instruction at a time.
 The programmer then runs the appropriate language compiler, specifying
the name of the file that contains the source statements.
 When executing (running), the compiler first parses (or analyzes) from the
input and then process the code to produce output for immediate
presentations all of the language statements syntactically one after the
other and then, in one or more successive stages or "passes", builds the
output code, making sure that statements that refer to other statements are
referred to correctly in the final code
  The role of an interpreter
Definition
An interpreter is a computer program that is used
to directly execute program instructions written
using one of the many high-level programming
languages.
Interpreter transforms or interprets a high-level
programming code into code that can be
understood by the machine (machine code).
The interpreter reads each statement of code and
then converts or executes it directly
An interpreter generally uses one of the following strategies for
program execution:
1. parse the source code and perform its behavior directly;
2. translate source code into some efficient intermediate
representation and immediately execute this;
3. explicitly execute stored precompiled code[1] made by
a compiler which is part of the interpreter system.
 The role of a virtual machine (such as the Java Virtual
Machine)
 Definition
 Virtual Machine is a software to emulate the other computer system so
that our computer can behave like that system.
 The process of creating and running a virtual machine is known as
virtualisation.
 Virtualisation software, known as an emulator
 The emulator translates the instructions of the guest computer so that the
host computer can understand them.
 The emulator also provides a bridge that allows the virtual machine to use
the user interface, via the host operating system (I/O – input/output),
allowing the user to interact with the software running on the virtual
machine.
  Example of Virtual Machine
The Java Virtual Machine
The Java Virtual Machine is a virtual machine
that reads and translates byte code into different
machine codes for many different processor
architectures and operating systems.
This means that Java programs can be run on
any computer that has this virtual machine,
including desktop PCs, laptops, tablets,
smartphones and smart TVs.
Diagram show how Java virtual works
 Benefits and limitations of
virtual machines
 Using virtual machines brings several benefits:
 They allow modern systems to use programs that run on
obsolete or unsupported platforms
 They allow platform-independent programs to run on multiple
platforms
 They allow one computer to behave as several computers
simultaneously
 They can be easily backed up, copied and re-installed. This has
particular benefits in corporate environments where network
downtime can lead to loss of revenue. The virtual machines can
be installed on another computer and be up and running again
quickly.
 Virtual machines also have limitations:
 They emulate (copy) software, not hardware. Users trying to get the
full functionality from software for another platform may find that
they still cannot use the software correctly. For example, an
emulation of a driving video game that requires a steering wheel
might not be able to operate the game correctly
 Emulation requires processing power and memory. Running a virtual
machine may take a substantial amount of these resources, resulting
in reduced performance from the host computer
 If the host system lacks sufficient resources, the virtual machine will
also suffer from poor performance and be difficult to use.
 Different methods of memory allocation
in computer programming
 Memory Allocation
 Definition - What does Memory Allocation mean?
 Memory allocation is a process by which computer programs and
services are assigned with physical or virtual memory space.
 Memory allocation is the process of reserving a partial or complete
portion of computer memory for the execution of programs and
processes. Memory allocation is achieved through a process known
as memory management.
 Memory allocation is primarily a computer hardware operation but is
managed through operating system and software applications.
Memory allocation process is quite similar in physical and virtual
memory management.
 Programs and services are assigned with a specific memory as per
their requirements when they are executed.
 Once the program has finished its operation or is idle, the memory is
released and allocated to another program or merged within the
primary memory.
 Memory allocation has two core types;

 Static Memory Allocation: The program is allocated

memory at compile time.
 Dynamic Memory Allocation: The programs are
allocated with memory at run time.
 The strengths and weaknesses of the different
language implementation options
Nowadays, C is mainly used in operating system programming and
low level things, like drivers. It's super fast, but it also lacks some
paradigms that make higher level languages easier to use.
C++ is mainly used in games. It is about as low level as C, but with
some added structures, notably classes and templates, which make
programming a little bit easier for large teams. The language itself is
harder to understand and reason about than C though.
Javascript is the only language used in the browser to make client
side web applications. Together with HTML and CSS, they form the
languages of the Web. If you're going to make web programming,
you must learn Javascript. Nowadays, you can also use Javascript on
the server side.
 Ruby and Python are multipurpose scripting
languages, mainly used on server side
2. Suitability of a language for a task
based on its design and available
language library
  The task for specific computation
requirements (speed of computation, available
memory, etc.)
 The amount and speed of the RAM in your computer makes a
huge difference in how your computer performs.
 If you are trying to run Windows XP with 64 MB of RAM it
probably won't even work.
 When the computer uses up all available RAM it has to start
using the hard drive to cache data, which is much slower.
 The constant transfer of data between RAM and virtual
memory (hard drive memory) slows a computer down
considerably. Especially when trying to load applications or
files.
 The two types of RAM.
 Dynamic RAM needs to be refreshed thousands of times
per second. Dynamic RAM differ in the technology they use
to hold data, dynamic RAM is being the more common
type.
 Static RAM does not need to be refreshed, which makes it
faster; but it is also more expensive than dynamic RAM.
 Both types of RAM are volatile, meaning that they lose their
contents when the power is turned off.
 The normal speed of RAM in most computers today is
pc100 (100mhz).
 This runs fine for most applications. Gamers or high-
end machines probably are using DDR (double data
rate) RAM.
 It's newer and more expensive, but runs
considerably faster (266mhz). Note that all
computers cannot use DDR RAM.
The likely environment the solution would
execute in
 Environment it is the first step to be followed before setting on to write
a program.
 When we say Environment Setup, it simply implies a base on top of
which we can do our programming.
 Thus, we need to have the required software setup, i.e., installation on
our PC which will be used to write computer programs, compile, and
execute them. For example, if you need to browse Internet, then you
need the following setup on your machine:
 A working Internet connection to connect to the Internet
 A Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, etc.
Key task constraints that would affect implementation
choices (including reliability requirements, speed of
delivery, flexibility, computation requirements)
ASSIGNMENT
The functional requirements and identifying
library functionality that could be used to
implement part or all of the feature
Functional Requirements
The Functional Requirements Specification documents the
operations and activities that a system must be able to
perform.
Functional Requirements should include:
Descriptions of data to be entered into the system
Descriptions of operations performed by each screen
Descriptions of work-flows performed by the system
Descriptions of system reports or other outputs
Who can enter the data into the system
How the system meets applicable regulatory requirements
 The Functional Requirements Specification is designed to
be read by a general audience.
 Readers should understand the system, but no particular
technical knowledge should be required to understand the
document.
 The different implementation choices for a
task based on task constraints and suitability
of environment
ASSIGNMENTS
Learning Outcome 2: Understand
the similarities between
common programming
languages
1. Explaining and comparing
common data structures
 The concept of a primitive data
type (such as integers, booleans)
Primitive Data type
 A Primitive data type, in programming, is a classification that
specifies which type of value a variable has and what type of
mathematical, relational or logical operations can be applied
to it without causing an error.
 A string, for example, is a data type that is used to classify
text and an integer is a data type used to classify whole
numbers.
 Primitive data type are as
follows
 Integers
 Booleans
 Floating point type
 Character type
 void type
 Integers
Integers are used to store whole numbers.
Integer is a fundamental variable type built into the
compiler and used to define numeric variables holding
whole numbers.
C, C++, C# and many other programming languages
recognize int as a type. Other data types
include float and double
 Integer Types
The following table provides the details of standard integer types with
their storage sizes and value ranges −

Type Size(bytes) Range

int or signed int 2 -32,768 to 32767

unsigned int 2 0 to 65535

short int or signed short int 1 -128 to 127

unsigned short int 1 0 to 255

long int or signed long int 4 -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647

unsigned long int 4 0 to 4,294,967,295

 Given below is an example to get the size of int type
on any machine.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <conio.h>

int main() {
printf("Storage size for int : %d \n", sizeof(int));

getch();
}
A program to find a leap year
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
void main()
{
int year;
printf("Enter the year\n");
scanf("%d", & year);
if ((year%4)==0)
{
printf("Leap year");
}
else
{
printf("is not a year");
}
getch();
}
 Booleans
 The Boolean type represents the values true and false.
 Although only two values are possible, they are rarely
implemented as a single binary digit for efficiency reasons.
 Many programming languages do not have an explicit Boolean
type, instead interpreting (for instance) 0 as false and other
values as true.
 Boolean data simply refers to the logical structure of how the
language is interpreted to the machine language.
 In this case a Boolean 0 refers to the logic False. True is always a
non zero, especially a one which is known as Boolean 1.
 Floating point type
Floating types are used to store real numbers.
Size and range of floating type on 16-bit machine
Type Size(bytes) Range

Float 4 3.4E-38 to 3.4E+38

double 8 1.7E-308 to 1.7E+308

long double 10 3.4E-4932 to 1.1E+4932

 Character type
 Character types are used to store characters
value.
Size and range of Character type on 16-bit machine

Type Size(bytes) Range

char or signed char 1 -128 to 127

unsigned char 1 0 to 255

 Void type
 Void type means no value.
 This is usually used to specify the type of functions
which returns nothing.
 We will get acquainted to this datatype as we start
learning more advanced topics in C language, like
functions, pointers etc.
The concept of a composite type (imaginary numbers, etc.)
 A composite type is any data type which can be constructed in
a program using the programming language's primitive data
types and other composite types.
 It is sometimes called a structure or aggregate data
type, although the latter term may also refer to arrays, lists, etc.
 The act of constructing a composite type is known
as composition.
 An array stores a number of elements of the same
type in a specific order. They are accessed
randomly using an integer to specify which
element is required (although the elements may be
of almost any type). Arrays may be fixed-length or
expandable.
 A list is similar to an array, but its contents are
strung together by a series of references to the
next element.
 The use and implementation of
reference types such as pointers and
function references
 Pointers
A pointer is a value that designates the address (i.e.,
the location in memory), of some value.
OR
Pointers are variables that hold a memory location.
Since the memory address are the locations in the
computer memory where program instructions and
data are stored, pointers be used to access and
manipulate data stored in the memory.
Uses of pointers
• Pointers are used to return more than one
value to the function.
• Pointers are more efficient in handling the
data in data.
• Pointers reduce the length and complexity of
the program
• They increase the execution speed.
• The pointers save data storage space in
memory
There are four fundamental things you need to know
about pointers:

 How to declare them (with the address operator “&” : int

*pointer=&variable)
 How to assign to them (pointer = Null);
 How to reference the value to which the pointer points
(known as dereferencing, by using the dereferencing
operator “*”:value = *pointer:)
 How they relate to arrays (the vast majority of arrays in C
are simple lists, also called "1 dimensional arrays", but we
will briefly cover multi-dimensional arrays with some
pointers in a later chapter).
 Declaring pointers
 Consider the following snippet of code which
declares two pointers:
struct MyStruct {
int m_aNumber; float num2;
};
int main()
{
int *pJ2;
struct MyStruct *pAnItem;
}
Lines 1-4 define a structure. Line 8 declares a
variable which points to an int, and line 9
declares a variable which points to something
with structure MyStruct.
So to declare a variable as something which
points to some type, rather than contains some
type, the asterisk (*) is placed before the
variable name.
A simple example to understand how to access the address of a
variable without pointers?
In this program, we have a variable num of int type. The value of
num is 10 and this value must be stored somewhere in the memory,
right? A memory space is allocated for each variable that holds the
value of that variable, this memory space has an address.
For example we live in a house and our house has an address,
which helps other people to find our house. The same way the
value of the variable is stored in a memory address, which helps the
C program to find that value when it is needed.
So let’s say the address assigned to variable num is
0x7fff5694dc58,which means whatever value we would be
assigning to num should be stored at the location: 0x7fff5694dc58.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <conio.h>
int main()
{ int num = 10;
printf("Value of variable num is: %d", num);
/* To print the address of a variable we use %p
format specifier and ampersand (&) sign just
* before the variable name like &num. */
printf("\nAddress of variable num is: %p", &num);
return 0;
}
 Output

Value of variable num is: 10

Address of variable num is: 0x7fff5694dc58
Advantages of pointers
• Pointers are more compact and efficient code
• Pointers can be used to return multiple values
from a function using its function arguments.
• They increase the execution speed and thus
reduce the program execution time
• Pointers also provide an alternate way to access
an array element.
• Pointers enable us to access the memory directly.
 Function
 A function is a group of statements that together
perform a task.
 Every C program has at least one function, which
is main(), and all the most trivial programs can
define additional functions.
 Declaring functions
 A function declaration tells the compiler about a
function's name, return type, and parameters. A
function definition provides the actual body of the
function.

return_type function_name( parameter list ) {

body of the function}
 Parts of a function
 Here are all the parts of a function
 Return Type − A function may return a value. The return_type is the data
type of the value the function returns. Some functions perform the desired
operations without returning a value. In this case, the return_type is the
keyword void.
 Function Name − This is the actual name of the function. The function
name and the parameter list together constitute the function signature.
 Parameters − A parameter is like a placeholder. When a function is invoked,
you pass a value to the parameter. This value is referred to as actual
parameter or argument. The parameter list refers to the type, order, and
number of the parameters of a function. Parameters are optional; that is, a
function may contain no parameters.
 Function Body − The function body contains a
collection of statements that define what the
function does.
 Example
/* function returning the max between two numbers */
int max(int num1, int num2) {
/* local variable declaration */
int result;
if (num1 > num2)
result = num1;
else
result = num2;
return result; }
 Function Declarations
 A function declaration tells the compiler about a function
name and how to call the function. The actual body of the
function can be defined separately.
 A function declaration has the following parts −

return_type function_name( parameter list );

 For the above defined function max(), the function
declaration is as follows −

int max(int num1, int num2);

 Example of a function
#include<stdio.h>
void swap(int *a, int *b);
int main()
{
int m = 22, n = 44;
printf("values before swap m = %d \n and n = %d",m,n);
swap(&m, &n);
}
void swap(int *a, int *b)
{
int tmp;
tmp = *a;
*a = *b;
*b = tmp;
printf("\n values after swap a = %d \nand b = %d", *a, *b);
}
 Output
values before swap m = 22
and n = 44
values after swap a = 44
and b = 22
 The design and implementation
of common collection structures:
arrays, linked lists,
dictionaries/maps, trees
 Arrays
 An array is defined as finite ordered collection of
homogenous data, stored in contiguous memory
locations.
 Here the words,
 finite means data range must be defined.
 ordered means data must be stored in continuous
memory addresses.
 homogenous means data must be of similar data type.
Example where arrays are used,
• to store list of Employee or Student names,
• to store marks of students,
• or to store list of numbers or characters etc.
 Declaring an Array
 Arrays must be declared before they are
used.
 General form of array declaration is,

data-type variable-name[size];
/* Example of array declaration */
int arr[10];
 Here int is the data type, arr is the name of the array and
10 is the size of array.
 It means array arr can only contain 10 elements of int
type.
 Initialization of an Array
 After an array is declared it must be initialized.
Otherwise, it will contain garbage value(any random
value).
 An array can be initialized at either compile time or
at runtime.
 The general form of initialization of array is,
data-type array-name[size] = { list of values };
/* Here are a few examples */
int marks[4]={ 67, 87, 56, 77 }; // integer
array initialization
float area[5]={ 23.4, 6.8, 5.5 }; // float
array initialization
int marks[4]={ 67, 87, 56, 77, 59 };
// Compile time error
 Example of array initialization
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
void main()
{
int i; int arr[] = {2, 3, 4}; // Compile time array initialization
for(i = 0 ; i < 3 ; i++)
{
printf("%d\t",arr[i]);
}
}

Output: 234
Types of Array
 One dimensional Arrays
 Two dimensional Arrays
 Multi dimensional Arrays
 One dimensional Arrays
 It is otherwise called as vector.
 It is a list item contains or consists only one variable name.

Example

Int name [5]

 Example program
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
int i;
int a[5] ;
int *p = a; // same as int*p = &a[0]
for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)
{
printf("%d", *p);
p++;
}
return 0;
}
Two dimensional Arrays
• It is otherwise called as Matrix
• It is a list item consists of two variables or subscripts
one dimension is row and other is column.

Declaration
Type variable name [row size] [column size]
 Example
Int marks [3] [3]
Column size
Data Array Row size
type name
Multi dimensional Arrays
 It is a list item consist of three or more
dimensions
 Linked lists
A linked list is a linear data structure that consist of a
sequence of data records.
Such that each records there is a field that contains a
reference to the next in the sequence.
Linked list can be singly, doubly or multiply linked and
can either be linear or circular.
 Basic Properties
 Objects, called nodes, are linked in a linear
sequence
 A reference to the first node of the list is always
kept. This is called the 'head' or 'front'
 Example of link lists
.

A linked list with three nodes contain two

fields each: an integer value and a link to
the next node
 Advantages of linked list
 Memory for a node is dynamically allocated, so the
number of items that are added to a list is limited
only by the amount of memory space.
 No wastage of memory available
 It provides flexibility and efficiency rearrange the
items.
Conventions of Linked List
There are several conventions for the linked list to
indicate the end of list.
 A null link
This means that points to no node (0) or null
 A dammy node
This means that contains no item.
 A reference back to the first node, making it a circular
list.
Types of Linked List
• Singly linked list
• doubly Linked list
• multiply linked list
 Singly linked list
 Is a linear data structure in which consist a pointer field
that point to the address of its next node and the data
items.
11 20 30 X
 doubly Linked list
 Is a linear data structure that which consists
two links or pointer field.

A B c X Null
multiply linked list (circular linked list
It is a list data structure in which last node point
to first node

3 3 20
 Dictionaries/Maps
 Map or a Dictionary) is an abstract data type
composed of a collection of (key,value) pairs, such
that each possible key appears at most once in the
collection.
Operations associated with this data allow :
the addition of pairs (key, value) to the collection,
the removal of pairs from the collection,
 the modification of the values of existing pairs, and
the lookup of the value associated with a particular key
 Map Operations
The operations that are usually defined for an associative array are;
 Add or insert: add a new (key,value) pair to the collection, binding the new key to its
new value. The arguments
to this operation are the key and the value.
• Reassign: replace the value in one of the (key,value) pairs that are already in the
collection, binding an old key to
a new value. As with an insertion, the arguments to this operation are the key and the
value.
• Remove or delete: remove a (key,value) pair from the collection, unbinding a given key
from its value. The
argument to this operation is the key.
• Lookup: find the value (if any) that is bound to a given key. The argument to this
operation is the key, and the
value is returned from the operation. If no value is found, some associative array
implementations raise an
exception.
 Map Implementation
 For dictionaries/map with very small numbers of bindings, it may make
sense to implement the dictionary using an association list, a linked list of
bindings.
 With this implementation, the time to perform the basic dictionary
operations is linear in the total number of bindings; however, it is easy to
implement and the constant factors in its running time are small.
 Another very simple implementation technique, usable when the keys are
restricted to a narrow range of integers, is direct addressing into an array:
 The most frequently used general purpose implementation of an
associative array is with a hash table: an array of bindings, together with a
hash function that maps each possible key into an array index.
 Tree
 A tree is a widely-used data structure that
emulates a hierarchical tree structure with a set
of linked nodes.
 Terminology of Tree
Node.
• A node is a structure which may contain a value, a
condition, or represent a separate data structure
(which could be a tree of its own).
• Each node in a tree has zero or more child nodes.
• A node that has a child is called the child's parent
node (or ancestor node, or superior).
• A node has at most one parent.
An internal node or inner node
 An internal node or inner node is any node of a tree that
has child nodes.
 Similarly, an external node (also known as an outer node,
leaf node, or terminal node), is any node that does not
have child nodes.
 The topmost node in a tree is called the root node. Being
the topmost node, the root node will not have a parent.
 All other nodes can be reached from it by following edges
or links.
 Every node in a tree can be seen as the root node of the
subtree rooted at that node. A free tree is a tree that is not
rooted.
The height of a node
The height of a node is the length of the longest downward
path to a leaf from that node.
The height of the root is the height of the tree.
The depth of a node is the length of the path to its root (i.e.,
its root path). This is commonly
A subtree of a tree T is a tree consisting of a node in T and all
of its descendants in T. (This is different from the formal
definition of subtree used in graph theory.
Example of Tree data structure
.
 Representations
There are many different ways to represent trees;
common representations represent the nodes as
dynamically allocated records with pointers to their
children, their parents, or both, or as items in an
array, with relationships between them determined
by their positions in the array (e.g., binary heap).
The process of adding, removing
and searching for data items
within common collection
structures