Kernel data structures

The Linux Kernel is a known source of best practices
It is self-contained, as it can't rely on libc
It's a complex project that would collapse from oversmartness
It has a lot of data to handle, and problems repeat overall


Rob Pike's rules of programming (shortened):
Rule 3. Fancy algorithms are slow when n is small, and n is usually small.
Rule 4. Use simple algorithms as well as simple data structures.
Rule 5. Data structures, not algorithms, are central to programming.



Obviously, the kernel uses linked lists in several places

Obviously, the kernel hosts a number of sorted data