Data Forge: A Modular Data Structure Library

Coming from web development and higher-level languages, you could say I’ve been spoiled by having any data structure I want at my fingertips. It wasn’t until I started learning C that I realized… data structures aren’t inherently built into every language. In languages like C, if you want to use them, you have to build them yourself. That was quite a culture shock for me.

That’s why I decided to create Data Forge—a high-level, modular, and memory-safe data structure library. I hope to gain two things from this project, one being a great library that allows for easy implementation of data structures in C and a better understanding of what is going on under the hood in higher level languages.

Being able to understand exactly how data structures work at this level will, I hope, make me a better developer overall.

I’ll be documenting my progress, sharing what I learn, and looking for feedback from everyone following along.

The Vision

Initially, I want Data Forge to include the core set of common data structures: dynamic arrays, hash maps, linked lists, trees, and strings. Alongside these structures, I’ll provide generic utility functions that work across all data types, as well as structure-specific utilities.

Once the core functionality is stable and usable, I plan to expand the library with more advanced structures and utilities. This includes graphs, along with search algorithms like A*. It’s going to be a long road with plenty of bumps along the way, but I’m excited to see where this project goes and what I’ll learn in the process.

What I Have So Far

Right now, I’ve implemented dynamic arrays with core functionality like push, pop, shift, and more. I’ve also built a generic iterator that will work across all future data structures, along with most of the generic utility functions.

Don’t worry—I’ll be publishing articles on each of these topics, breaking down how everything works and fits together.

I’ve also been writing simple tests for everything I build. Since testing and TDD are new to me, I haven’t been too strict about making my tests exhaustive just yet. However, once I refine them to a level I’m happy with, I’ll share my approach.

Wrapping Up

If this sounds interesting, follow along! I’ll be posting updates, sharing challenges, and refining Data Forge as I go. Got ideas or suggestions? Let’s discuss!

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!