What Are Data Structures?

A data structure is a data organization, management, and storage format that enables efficient access and modification. More precisely, a data structure is a collection of data values, the relationships among them, and the functions or operations that can be applied to the data.

-- Wikipedia Definition

In other words, a data structure:

• Stores data
• Organizes data so that it can easily be accessed and modified
• Contains algorithmic functions to expose the ability to read and modify the data

You're already familiar with some of Python's built-in, simple data structures:

List: An ordered collection of items

animals = ['cat', 'dog', 'mouse']

Dictionary: Collections of key/value pairs

car = {
  "brand": "Ford",
  "model": "Mustang",
  "year": 1964
}