Difference between data structure and collection in the C# programming language

Question

According to the title of the question, the difference between data structures and collections is confusing for me, and I don't know if this question I asked is appropriate or not.
I'll accept an answer that is simple, clear, and complete. I tried to understand the differences between the two by reading the contents of the link below, but it did not function.

Collections and data structures
Thank you in advance for your response.

Answer 1

Hi @Reza Jaferi , Welcome to Microsoft Q&A,

In the C# programming language, there are some differences and overlaps between data structures and collections.

1. Data structure:

• Data structures are concepts about data organization, storage and management.
• It usually refers to how data is organized in memory for easy access and manipulation.
• Data structures can be basic (such as arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, etc.) or complex (such as trees, graphs, etc.).
• In C#, data structures can be implemented through custom classes, structures or interfaces, or you can use the data structures provided in the .NET Framework (such as System.Array).

2. Collection:

• A collection is a special data structure used to store a set of related data and provides a set of methods to operate on this data.
• Collection classes are classes provided in the .NET Framework for representing and manipulating data collections.
• The collection class provides a common set of interfaces and functions to work on operations such as adding, deleting, searching, and traversing.
• In C#, collection classes are usually divided into two types: generic collections and non-generic collections. Generic collections are type-safe and generally perform better; non-generic collections require type conversion and may not be efficient in some cases.

So, although data structures and collections are related to some extent, they are slightly different conceptually and have some overlap.

Best Regards,

Jiale

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Answer 2

For all intents and purposes the terms are interchangeable. You can use either. From a more academic point of view though a data structure is any structure (such as a list, array, tree, dictionary, etc) that stores data. This would technically include something as simple as an employee object storing employee-specific data. However when we talk about data structures we are generally referring to sets of data stored, collections.

Collections are sets of data. They can include lists, dictionaries, trees, etc. Collections are data structures but academically are generally more focused on how the set of data is stored (hash, array, etc). Nevertheless we tend not to distinguish the two terms in most cases.

In NET the namespace (and hence types) that store sets of data is System.Collections. Therefore in NET we tend to use the term collections for any of the data structures used to store sets of data, including arrays. But honestly it doesn't matter.