Data structures serve as a foundation upon which many other computer science fields are built. Thus, some knowledge of data structures is a prerequisite for students who wish to work in the design, implementation, testing, or maintenance of virtually any software systems. The Java language, an object-oriented descendant of C and C++, has gained popularity in industry and academia as an excellent programming language due to widespread use of the Internet. Thus, the use of Java to teach a data and algorithms course is well justified.
