How to Make Changes in Existing Data Structure?

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Data structures are the tools that help in storing the data efficiently. Data is a crucial part of any project or organization. Right from storing customer credentials, to your businesses’ classified information, data structures act as the reservoirs of information. They facilitate data access, data modification or data changes apart from storing them.

The data stored in the data structures are organized efficiently such that it facilitates easy retrieval of information at any point of time with the help of appropriate commands. This organization takes place in tables and establishes a relevant relationship to each other. So, when the computer is asked to fetch a particular data, it dives down into its memory and brings it up. It is easy to understand this with an example- Suppose that you want to store the login credentials of your customer. Now, they must have a relationship in the table, such that the correct id refers to the correct password. Without data structures accomplishing this task, it is near to impossible to sustain a large amount of data.

Making changes in existing Data Structure

Storing data also invites necessary modifications and updates from time to time. This process maintains the vitality of the data and reduces the redundancy. Here are ways that will help you make changes in the existing data structure-

Insert

Tables help to store the data in a data structure. There can be different operations carried out on these tables that are general as well as language specific. The insert operation is one such operation that lets you insert rows or columns in your existing table. Data in an existing table can be inserted in two ways-

  • One row at a time
  • Bulk

Using the insert, you can also pick data from one of your tables and add it to another. This change is a part of the transaction which means that it can either be committed or rolled back. Apart from inserting rows and columns, you can also insert specific values to them.

Change column or row names

In existing data structures, it is often necessary to update the attributes of rows of columns. One of these can be updating the names of rows and columns. For example, if you initially named a column as ‘username’ but now need to change it to the ‘user id’. You can make such changes to rows and columns easily in your existing data structures. Column and row names must be able to establish the entity of a particular category. For example, you cannot name a column as ‘names’ that represents customer purchases.

Add data

Adding data to existing data structures is a natural process. There are different ways to accomplish it. You can-

  • Add a table
  • Add rows
  • Add columns
  • Or add specific values

While adding rows and columns is more like the insertion operation, creating tables can be used for adding fresh data. You can add a table by creating one in your data structure. The created table can have as many rows and columns as per your needs.

Delete columns or rows from tables

Data structures often require updates from time to time so that they possess the most relevant information for any project. Deletion is a process that eliminates any unwanted fields or values from the data structure. For example, if you’ve discontinued offering a product to the customer, you may delete its specific entry from the data structure. Always remember that deletion is permanent and any data that you store in a specific row or column may get lost when you perform the delete operation on it. You can also delete an entire table from your database.

Copying fields

Copying is a process of replicating a piece of data at some place in the data structure. It can be performed for any data structure in an uncomplicated manner. You can copy from an entity type that already exists in the data structure. The attributes under the copy command are first copied to the clipboard after which they apply to the field of your choice. It is important to note that only the explicit attributes are copied for an entity.

Change table category

You can make changes to your data structure also by changing the category of your table. There are different categories of the table used in data structures such as a transparent table, look-up table, list table, core table, cluster table, pooled table, detailed table etc. You can change your table category easily. However, it is crucial to pay attention to the data in your existing table before changing its category. There is a chance of losing all settings and data, specific to the database language.

Changing data type, field length, decimal places

Data structures encompass different data types. These can be integers, alphabets, decimals, floats etc. While designing your table, it is important to set the specific data type for each field to avoid the accumulation of any garbage values in your database. For example, since the category of phone numbers only require an integer value to be entered and that of a specific length, you can set the field type and length for it. It prevents any unnecessary data to be entered in the field.

Moving the order of the fields: The rows and columns are arranged in a definite pattern in your existing table. For example, there is a column for user id, then age, phone number, password and so on. You can change the order of these fields as per your wish in the data structure. It requires selecting the required field and cut-pasting it wherever you want. However, the commands are also specific to the database language.

Data structures are necessary for any organization and must be incorporated in their structures right at the beginning. They help in accelerating operations in many ways. The data is stored safely in an organized structure and can be fetched as per the requirements. As data is crucial to any project, data structures enhance an organization’s performance by posing limitless benefits. Modifications and changes can be made to these data structures effortlessly to keep them updated and redundancy-free.

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