This is one of those data structures that everyone should try building at least once, kind of like linked lists, etc. Semi-unrelated, I built a couple of toy implementations a few years ago using the same basic ideas:
They were kind of fun to build and I'd recommend giving, especially if you have some skill but don't think you have the chops. To get a working toy isn't really all that hard once you understand the principals.
* This one is the my original written in something halfway resembling scheme: https://github.com/arlaneenalra/Bootstrap-Scheme/blob/master...
* And this implementation is part of a half finished byte code scheme that I haven't touched in a few years. Another project I need to get back to. Interface: https://github.com/arlaneenalra/insomniac/blob/master/src/in... Internals: https://github.com/arlaneenalra/insomniac/tree/master/src/li...
They were kind of fun to build and I'd recommend giving, especially if you have some skill but don't think you have the chops. To get a working toy isn't really all that hard once you understand the principals.