VU Past Papers CS302 – Introduction to Data Structures and Arrays Questions & Answers (Lectures 1–22)

Lecture-Wise Questions & Answers (Lectures 1–22)

Lecture 1: Introduction to Data Structures and Arrays

Q1: What are constraints?
A: Constraints define limitations or restrictions on resources of a system (like memory, disk space, or time). Efficient solutions solve problems within resource constraints.

Q2: What is lvalue?
A: Lvalue is a memory location where a value can be stored. Appears on the left-hand side of assignment. Example: int var = 7; → var is lvalue.

Q3: What is the “current” pointer?
A: A variable showing the currently focused element in an array or list. Example: current = 5 means focus is on element 5.

Q4: What is an algorithm?
A: A finite sequence of steps to solve a problem.

Q5: Role of arrays in data structures:

Store similar data efficiently.
Enable constant-time read/write (O(1)), but lookup operations like find_min may take linear time (O(n)).
Can be multidimensional (matrix, tensor).

Q6: How many types can data be organized?

Linear (arrays, lists)
Non-linear/Hierarchical (trees)

Q7: Importance of data structures:

Queue in banks, undo in editors, online shopping lists, telephone networks, image bitmaps, printer spooler, browser history.

Q8: What is a chunk?
A: A piece of memory of reasonable size.

Q9: Basic purpose of data structure:

Organize and store data efficiently for operations like searching, deletion, insertion.

Q10: What are argc and argv?

Command-line arguments in main(int argc, char** argv).

Q11: Difference between data structure and algorithm:

Data Structure: Organization of data efficiently.
Algorithm: Steps to solve a problem.

Q12: What is efficiency?

Solving problem within resource constraints (time, space).

Q13: What is Array Name and x?

x is array name; x[0], x[1], … access elements.

Q14: List Data Structure & Operations:

Operation	Description
createList()	Create a new list
copy()	Copy one list to another
clear()	Remove all elements
insert(X, ?)	Insert element X at a position
remove(?)	Remove element at a position
get(?)	Get element at position
update(X, ?)	Replace element at position with X
find(X)	Check if X exists
length()	Return list length

Q15: Dynamic arrays:

Resizable array allowing addition/removal of elements. Dynamic arrays differ from statically allocated arrays.

Q16: Difference between Array and List:

Feature	Array	List
Memory	Contiguous/static	Dynamic/random
Size	Fixed	Can grow
Modification	Easy	Complex
Addition/Deletion	Not possible after declaration	Can add/delete nodes

Lecture 2: Linked Lists and Dynamic Memory

Q1: What are linked lists?

Sequence of nodes where each node points to the next. Allows dynamic memory allocation.

Q2: Why use arrays for implementing lists?

Array implementation stores elements contiguously. Limitations: fixed size → use linked memory method.

Q3: Difference between static and dynamic arrays:

Feature	Static Array	Dynamic Array
Memory	Stack	Heap
Size	Fixed	Can be input by user
Example	`int arr[6];`	`int* arr = new int[size];`

Q4: Difference between array and list:

Feature	Array	List
Elements	Homogeneous	Heterogeneous
Memory	Continuous	Random
Size	Fixed	Can be dynamic

Q5: How to set current position?

Assign an index to the current variable, e.g., current = 3;.

Q6: How to shift elements left/right in array?

Use a loop to move elements; store first/last element temporarily.

Q7: Main operations on lists: (same as Lecture 1)

Q8: Main difference between array and list:

Array: indexed, contiguous memory, static size.
List: abstract, nodes, dynamic size, elements linked via pointers.