What is the difference between an Abstract Data Type(ADT) and a Data Structure?

java c++ algorithm data-structures abstract-data-type
user1403483 picture user1403483 · Dec 20, 2012 · Viewed 26.9k times · Source

I have found books and online resources use both terms interchangeably wihout showing much explicit distinction.

Answer

vishal_aim picture vishal_aim · Dec 20, 2012

This may help:

To put it simple, ADT is a logical description and data structure is concrete. ADT is the logical picture of the data and the operations to manipulate the component elements of the data. Data structure is the actual representation of the data during the implementation and the algorithms to manipulate the data elements. ADT is in the logical level and data structure is in the implementation level.

ADT vs DS

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