/AbstractDataTypes

Libraries and examples for abstract datatypes implemented in C.

Primary LanguageCMIT LicenseMIT

Abstract Data Types

Header files, source code and examples for abstract datatypes implemented entirely in C.

ADTs covered so far:

  • Singly-Linked Lists
  • Doybly-Linked Lists
  • Stacks
  • Queues
  • Chained Hash Tables
  • Binary Trees (in process)
  • Binary Search Trees (in process)

How to use these libraries

You will find most of the information you need in the header files located under AbstractDataTypes/include .

If you're new to C, remember that you must compile and link the source code of the library. It's up to you to write a makefile and/or to make sure that your compiler can find the files and objects you decide to include.

A simple way of compiling and linking the examples provided in this repository using GCC on a Linux distro:

Compile the lib:

$ cd AbstractDataTypes/source
$ gcc -I ../include -c LinkedList.c -o LinkedList.o

Compile and link with the example program:

$ cd ../examples
$ gcc -I ../include ListExample.c ../source/LinkedList.o -o ListExample

Run the program:

$ ./ListExample

About

I created these libraries a while ago for learning data structures and their public interfaces. They had been lying around among other long-forgotten, unfinished projects until I recently started programming again. Since some of my new projects require the use of some of the abstract datatypes for which I had already written some libs, I committed myself to writing cleaner, simpler and self-explaining versions to make them a lot easier to include and use.

Since these libraries were made for my own personal use, I often preferred simplicity over abstraction. You therefore might need to modify these libs to either make them match your specific implementation or to make them more abstract, if you consider it's worth the hassle.

References

I used as references for writing these libraries mainly Kyle Loudon's "Mastering Algorithms with C" and Richard Reese's "Understanding and Using C Pointers", both published by O'Reilly & Associates.