fixed and dynamic data structures

Question

how to demonstrate programming for fixed and dynamic data structures?

Vulpes · Answer

This example contrasts the use of a fixed data structure (an array) with a dynamic data structure (a List(Of T)). Once it has been initialized an array is fixed in size whereas a List(Of T) increases its capacity automatically as new items are added. It is still possible to increase an array's size using the Array.Resize method but what this does internally is to create a new array of the required size and then copy the previous array's elements to the new array. Internally, a List Imports System Imports System.Collections.Generic Module Test Sub Main() Dim a() As String = {"A", "B", "C", "D"} Array.Resize(a, 6) a(4) = "E" a(5) = "F" Console.Write("The elements of the array are : ") For Each s As String in a Console.Write("{0} ", s) Next Console.WriteLine() ' now do same thing using a List(Of String) Dim l As New List(Of String) From {"A", "B", "C", "D"} Console.WriteLine("The initial capacity of the list is {0}", l.Capacity) l.Add("E") l.Add("F") Console.Write("The elements of the list are : ") For Each s As String in a Console.Write("{0} ", s) Next Console.WriteLine() Console.WriteLine("The capacity of the list has now been doubled to {0}", l.Capacity) Console.ReadKey() End Sub End Module

fixed and dynamic data structures

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