What are data structures?
Data structures define how you store data in a programming language. Every programming language has a core set of data structures.
What are data types?
Data types refer to the data structures you're using or the type of information stored in those data structures.
Why are data structures important?
Much of programming focuses on handling data. How you represent data through code impacts what you can do with that data: if you model your data well, your program is easier to work with. Choosing a specific approach to data modeling informs how you think about data, so knowing the available data structures in a programming language will help you best represent your project's information.
What are the most common kinds of data structures?
The most common data structures include variables, classes, sequences, objects, and mappings. Python also has text-based data types, like strings, and numerical data tupes, like floats and integers.