Top 5 Free Data Structure and Algorithm Courses for Java and C Programmers

Data Structure and Algorithm is one of the essential topics for programmers, both to get a job and do well on Job. A good knowledge of data structure and algorithm is the foundation of writing good code. If you are familiar with essential data structures e.g. array, string, linked list, tree, map and advanced data structure e.g. tries, AVL trees etc and know when to use which data structure and compute the CPU and memory cost of your code in terms  Even though you don't need to write your own array, linked list or hashtable, given every major programming SKD provides them e.g. JDK or C++ STL library, you will need to understand them so that you can use them in right place. Using a right data structure can drastically improve the performance of an algorithm.

Ideally, we should all learn the data structure and algorithm in our school and college but it mostly it didn't happen. Most of the programmers, including myself, only get introduced to a data structure in our computer science courses but we didn't really learn the real world importance of them and that's why we didn't understand them better.

For us, they are just the algorithms and data structure e.g. some concept, not a tool which you can use to write good programs e.g. we didn't know that Facebook would use them to store our details or Google will use them to store web pages and linked to search queries. Anyway, it's never too late.

If you think that your data structure knowledge is not at par or you want to improve your data structure knowledge then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared some of the free books to learn data structure and algorithms and in this article, you will learn about some of the best data structure and algorithm courses which are available for free online.

5 Online Courses to Learn Data Structures and Algorithms

Here is my list of some of the best courses to learn Data structure and Algorithms which are also free. Many programmers think that free resources are not good which is not true, even though they can't match the quality and coverage of paid resources due to obvious reason, they are in fact, best resources to start with.

You can use this courses to get familiar with the essential data structure and learn some basics.  Some of them are particularly good form interview point of view so you can use them alongside any book you are using to prepare for your programming job interview.

1) Data Structures & Algorithms with Java - Interview !!

This is one of the free data structure and algorithm course from Udemy for all those people who want to learn data structure from absolute basic to advanced level. It doesn't expect you to have any prior knowledge of Data Structure, but a basic prior knowledge of Java is helpful

This is also an ideal course for Computer science students, Software working professionals who want to learn Data Structure and Algorithm from an interview perspective. So, if you are looking to get a job on product based companies like Amazon,, Google, Microsoft, or Facebook you can use this course to kick start your preparation.

2) Data Structures Concepts in C

This is another free, online algorithm and data structure training course which aims to teach basic data structures in computer programming. The data structures taught in the course includes Stack, Queue and Linked List using the C programming language. The primary goal is to make students and software engineers visualize how different data structures work.

This is not an exhaustive course given its free, but you will learn about Stack, Queue, and inked List.

In short, a great course for programmers new to data structures. Those who have just learned a programming language and want to learn the basics of how data structures work.

3) Algorithms and Data Structures - Part 1

This is the first part of a two-part series of courses covering algorithms and data structures on Pluarlsight. In this part, you will learn essential data structures like linked lists, stacks, queues, binary trees, and hash tables.

You will also learn about core data structures and algorithms used in everyday applications and understand the trade-offs involved with choosing each data structure, along with traversal, retrieval, and update algorithms.

Btw, this course is not completely free, you need a Pluarlsight membership to join this course, which is worth of money. But, you can to make it free, you can still do that by signing up for their free trial. They give 10-day free trial which is more than enough to complete this course.

4) Algorithms and Data Structures - Part 2

This is the second part of a two-part series of courses covering data structures and algorithms. In this part, you will learn algorithms like sorting, string searching, sets, AVL trees and concurrency issues. You will also learn some advanced data structures and algorithms used in application development.

You will also learn trade-offs involved with choosing each data structure and algorithm and see some examples from real-world.  You can take both part 1 and part 2 together to revise all the data structure you need to know for a coding interview.

5)Data Structure in Java

This is an introductory online course on data structures, algorithms, and complexity analysis.  It will teach you design, implementation, and analysis of basic data structures using Java language. The best part of this course is the tons of practical examples and focuses on intuition, rather than formulas and mathematical proofs.

The course particularly provides a good introduction for "complexity analysis" which makes it possible to spot a poorly (and a great) performing program, even without the need for executing it.

That's all about some of the free data structure and algorithm courses available online. You can use these courses to learn data structure and algorithms at your own pace. Given they are free resources, they may not be complete but they do provide a good introduction. Once you go through these courses you can pick a good book e.g. Introduction to Algorithms to further supplement your knowledge.

Other Programming Resources you may like to explore:

5 Free Spring  Framework Courses for Java Developers

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5 Online training courses to learn Angular for Free

5 Node JS courses for Java and Web Developers

5 Courses to Learn Big Data and Apache Spark

10 Algorithm Books for Every Programmer

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