To learn a subject such as computer science, you need to immerse yourself in it --learning by doing rather than by simply observing. Through the study of several classic data structures and algorithms, you will become a better informed and more knowledgeable computer science student and programmer. To be able to professionally choose the best algorithm and data structure for a particular set of resource constraints takes practice.
An emphasis on learning by doing is used throughout Data Structures in Java: A Laboratory Course. In each laboratory, you explore a particular data structure by implementing it. As you create an implementation, you learn how the data structure works and how it can be applied. The resulting implementation is a working piece of software that you can use in later laboratories and programming projects.
Data Structures in Java: A Laboratory Course