arrayringlike

Arrayringlike is a term used in computer science to describe data structures that exhibit characteristics of both arrays and linked lists. Specifically, an arrayringlike structure typically combines the contiguous memory allocation and direct access capabilities of an array with the dynamic resizing and efficient insertion/deletion operations of a linked list.

One common implementation of an arrayringlike structure is a dynamic array or a resizable array, such as those found in many programming language standard libraries (e.g., `ArrayList` in Java, `vector` in C++, `list` in Python). These structures store elements in a contiguous block of memory like an array. However, when the array becomes full, it is reallocated to a larger size, often doubling its capacity, which allows for dynamic growth. While accessing elements by index is O(1), inserting or deleting elements at the beginning or in the middle can be O(n) due to the need to shift subsequent elements.

Another interpretation of arrayringlike could refer to structures that use an underlying array to manage a sequence of elements, but employ a circular buffer or a linked list of arrays to achieve certain performance goals. For instance, a linked list where each node is itself a small, fixed-size array can offer better cache locality than a traditional linked list and more efficient insertions than a simple dynamic array, especially when many insertions occur at arbitrary positions. The term is not a formally defined or universally adopted standard, and its precise meaning can vary depending on the context in which it is used. It serves as a descriptive label for structures that aim to bridge the performance trade-offs between traditional arrays and linked lists.