Module outline:📋 Module Topics🎯 Student Learning Outcomes
COP3530 — Data Structures

Applied Data Structures: Blockchain, Digital Currency, and Beyond

Explore how foundational data structures power real-world systems — from social networks and file systems to blockchain ledgers and cryptocurrency. This module bridges computer science theory with modern applied contexts, guiding learners through linked lists, hash tables, Merkle trees, graphs, and more.

Module Artifacts  —  7 items

Module Topics .json

Outlines the module's subject matter across three areas — foundational data structures (hash tables, trees, graphs), blockchain architecture (linked lists, cryptographic hashing, Merkle trees), and digital currency systems (wallets, UTXO model) — giving learners and instructors a structured overview of the topics to be studied.

Topic Detail .html

A reading that introduces foundational data structures (such as arrays, linked lists, trees, and hash tables) and explains how they underpin real-world computing systems like social networks, file systems, and blockchains, serving as a conceptual starting point for learners entering the module.

Topic Detail .html

A reading that explains how blockchain technology is constructed from linked lists, cryptographic hash functions, and Merkle trees to create a tamper-resistant distributed ledger, helping learners understand the computer science principles behind blockchain architecture.

Topic Detail .html

A reading that covers how digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum use data structures and cryptography to achieve decentralized, tamper-resistant transaction records, enabling learners to understand the technical foundations of cryptocurrency systems.

Topic Detail .html

A reading that explains how social networks are modeled as graphs, covers key graph data structures and traversal algorithms, and shows how these are applied to real-world problems such as friend recommendations and network analysis.

Topic Detail .html

A reading that examines how complex software systems combine multiple data structures together, explains the reasoning behind those design choices, and analyzes the trade-offs and consequences of good versus poor structural decisions, helping learners think holistically about system design.

Text Content .html

A reading that examines how complex software systems combine multiple data structures together, explains the reasoning behind those design choices, and analyzes the trade-offs and consequences of good versus poor structural decisions, helping learners think holistically about system design.

Topics & Learning Outcomes

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