tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273593670040001243.post6712487543576215034..comments2022-03-28T05:51:26.366-07:00Comments on Useless Factor: Why do we need data structures?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00902922561603041049noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273593670040001243.post-57688645616659230302008-01-06T20:15:00.000-08:002008-01-06T20:15:00.000-08:00which is the connecting media between a programmin...which is the connecting media between a programming language and database...?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06336937758295221575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273593670040001243.post-73992511021599877952007-04-12T08:30:00.000-07:002007-04-12T08:30:00.000-07:00Daniel,The basis of data structures are values (of...Daniel,<BR/><BR/>The basis of data structures are values (of any kind in the universe of discourse). It can be helpful to think of each value as taking up the same amount of space as any other value no matter how complicated its structure might be.<BR/><BR/>Think of a pointer as a representation of the value in question and not a reference. Then forget about pointers altogether and think only of values.<BR/><BR/>I have been working on and off (more off than on) for some time on a project and in essence, from the perspective of the virtual machine, structures and the associated type may be represented by pointers, but from the perspective of the programmer there are no pointers and the type cannot be separated from the value. All values appear to be the same size irrespective of complexity.<BR/><BR/>Pointers are an implementation issue and for your purposes you don't need them in the language of choice.<BR/><BR/><BR/>regards<BR/><BR/>Bruce Rennie<BR/>(God's Own Country Downunder)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273593670040001243.post-23792282126337932762007-04-10T21:58:00.000-07:002007-04-10T21:58:00.000-07:00Thanks for commenting, Bruce. I see what you mean,...Thanks for commenting, Bruce. I see what you mean, but at the same time, I am thinking of what I'm logically trying to achieve. While writing code, I almost never think about pointers, but it's still useful to know that they're underneath it all (at least in most programming languages). In writing that article, I was thinking about what is the basis of data structures, and I realized it was references to other things.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00902922561603041049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273593670040001243.post-20438424703951964862007-04-10T15:54:00.000-07:002007-04-10T15:54:00.000-07:00Daniel,You are thinking at a physical level instea...Daniel,<BR/><BR/>You are thinking at a physical level instead of at a logical level in this essay. Though you are correct as far as the current physical manifestation of hardware, this is not the only way it can be physically done. <BR/><BR/>So, let's not consider the physical at the moment but what you are trying to logically achieve. Leave pointers behind and work with symbols and values and see how this affects your thinking of the problem at hand. <BR/><BR/>These comments are meant only to give you a pointer (they can be useful logically) in the right direction.<BR/><BR/>regards<BR/><BR/>Bruce Rennie<BR/>(God's Own Country Downunder)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com