Synopsis A definition of a data type.
Description An Abstract Data Type
is a mathematical description of a structure
that can be implemented in various ways. For instance, a stack data type can be characterized by
In functional languages, and also in Rascal, abstract datatypes (or ADTs for short) are used to define new data types. Well-known examples are stack and tree.
See Rascal:AlgebraicDataType and Rascal:Values/Constructor.
is a mathematical description of a structure
that can be implemented in various ways. For instance, a stack data type can be characterized by empty (the empty stack),
two functions push and pop and axioms that define them. At the implementation level, a stack
can be implemented using a list, array or something else.
In functional languages, and also in Rascal, abstract datatypes (or ADTs for short) are used to define new data types. Well-known examples are stack
and tree.
See Rascal:AlgebraicDataType and Rascal:Values/Constructor.
Examples 
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Abstract Data Types in daily life
- A stack of trays in the local cafetaria.
- A tree.
- Coral.
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Abstract Data Types in computer science
- The run-time stack of a programming language interpreter.
- A search tree.
- An ontology.
Abstract Data Types in Rascal
- A tree data type:
data MyTree = leaf(int n) | tree(str name, MyTree left, MyTree right);