Tuples, Arrays and Lists

• What does contiguous mean?


  • means all the data stored together, one element after the other
• What is an array?

  • a data structure that can contain many elements of the same data type
• What is a record

  a collection of related fields. A field is a variable, and each field in a record can have a different data type
• What is a list

  a one-dimensional data structure that can store more than one data type
• How can an array be defined?

  As a variable containing multiple data items
• What is the memory allocation for arrays?

  Arrays store data contiguously in memory
• What is the difference between lists and arrays in Python?

  Lists are not contiguous, arrays are
• What is a record data structure?

  A collection of related fields
• What is the difference between lists and tuples in Python?

  Lists are mutable, tuples are immutable
• How do you add an item to a list in Python?

  Use the append method
• What happens if you try to change a tuple in Python?

  An error occurs due to immutability
• What are the key differences between arrays, lists, and tuples?

  • Arrays: Contiguous, static size, single data type
  • Lists: Non-contiguous, dynamic size, mutable
  • Tuples: Non-contiguous, fixed size, immutable
• What are the characteristics of a record data structure?

  • Collection of related fields
  • Each field can have different data types
  • Used to group related variables
• Static structure


  structure size cannot change at runtime
• Dynamic structure


  structure size can change at runtime
• Advantages of a static data structure:

  • Memory allocation is fixed, which means there will be no issue with adding and removing items for a data structure
  • Easier to program, as there is no need to check the size of the data structure at any point before accessing it
• Disadvantages of a static data structure

  • Can be very inefficient as memory for the data structure is set aside at the start of the program but might not be utilised
• Advantage of a dynamic data structure

  • Makes efficient use of memory because the data structure only uses as much memory as it needs
• Disadvantages of a dynamic data structure:

  • Overflow can occur if it exceeds its allowed limit as well as undeflow if it is empty