Adaptive and Scalable Data Structures (Dagstuhl Seminar 25191)

Abstract

This report documents the program and the outcomes of Dagstuhl Seminar 25191 "Adaptive and Scalable Data Structures". Data structures govern the organization and manipulation of data in computing systems across a broad range of applications. The efficiency and scalability of data structures has profound implications, motivating continued research on the entire spectrum from theoretical to practical. As the size and complexity of data sets increases and as the underlying computing infrastructure changes, data structures need to be continually redesigned with scalability in mind. Classical data structures also need reevaluation to better fit the requirements of modern applications. Adaptivity offers a way to design data structures that automatically take advantage of features of the underlying hardware, specific structure and biases in their usage, or side-information, and the limits of data structure adaptivity pose deep research questions. The goal of this seminar was to reflect on these complementary aspects of data structure research and to identify promising research questions. The program provides a snapshot of the current state of research and establishes possible future directions for the field.