Simply, a data structure is a container that stores data in a specific layout. This "layout" allows a data structure to be efficient in some operations. Our goal is to understand data structures so that you can pick the data structure that's most optimal for the problem at hand. As data structures are used to store data in an organized form, and since data is the most crucial entity in computer science, the true worth of data structures is clear. No matter what problem are you solving, in one way or another you have to deal with data - whether it's an employee's salary, stock prices, a grocery list, or even a simple telephone directory. Based on different scenarios, data needs to be stored in a specific format. We have a handful of data structures that cover our need to store data in different formats.