6.5.7 Case Study Overview

This case study illustrates the use of many of the concepts this book has stressed. These include the basic concepts of top-down design, data abstraction, functional modularization, and the use of appropriate data structures to achieve clear, concise, and efficient programs.

It also shows the versatility of list-structures and the way in which pointers contribute to this versatility. List-structures provide a means of interconnecting data to cut retrieval time significantly. To do so, however, means that we have to organize the data to fit the desired retrievals. As usual, we are faced with higher costs to organize the data, that is, to build the links we will need, but gain reduced costs in search time for retrieving information. This is the classic trade-off.