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Data structures and algorithms are some of the most essential topics for programmers, both to get a job and to do well on a job. Good knowledge of data structures and algorithms 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 structures like tries, and self-balanced trees like AVL trees, etc., you’ll 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 the right place.

Using the right data structure can drastically improve the performance of an algorithm.

Ideally, we should all learn the data structures and algorithms in our schools and colleges, but it mostly 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 structures e.g. some concept, not a tool that you can use to write good programs. We didn’t know that Facebook would use them to store our details or that Google would use them to store web pages and link 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 shared some free books to learn data structures and algorithms, and in this article, you will learn about some of the best data structure and algorithm courses that 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 structures 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 reasons, they are, in fact, the best resources to start with.

You can use these courses to familiarize yourself with the essential data structures and learn some basics.  Some of them are particularly good from an 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 and Algorithms with Java — Interview!

This is one of the free data structure and algorithm courses from Udemy for all those people who want to learn data structures from an absolute basic to advanced level. It doesn’t expect you to have any prior knowledge of data structures, 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 with 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 include 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 it’s free, but you will learn about Stack, Queue, and Linked List.

In short, it is a great course for programmers new to data structures and 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.

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 real-world examples. You can take both part 1 and part 2 together to revise all the data structures you need to know for a coding interview.

By the way, these two courses are not completely free; you need a Pluarlsight membership to join this course, which costs money. But you can to make it free by signing up for their free trial. They givea 10-day free trial, which is more than enough to complete this course.

If you want to spend some money on your learning this year, then getting an annual Pluralsight membership is the best thing for you. It costs around $29 per month or $299 annually (14% discount). 

It allows you to access their 5000+ online courses on all the latest topics like front-end and backend development, Machine Learning, etc. It also includes interactive quizzes, exercises, and the latest certification material. 

It’s more like Netflix for software developers, and since learning is an important part of our job, a Plurlasight membership is a great way to stay ahead of your competition.

5) Data Structure in Java

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

The course 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.

Conclusion

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 like Introduction to Algorithms to further supplement your knowledge.

Other Programming Resources you may like to explore:

5 Free Spring  Framework Courses for Java Developers

5 Online Courses to learn Core Java for Free

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

50+ Data Structure and Algorithm Interview Questions for Programmers

Thanks for reading this article. If you like these free data structure and algorithm courses, then please share with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback then please drop a comment.

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