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Why use linked list over array?
Arrays can be used to store linear data of similar types, but arrays have the following limitations.
- The size of the arrays is fixed, So we must know the upper limit on the number of elements in advance.
- Inserting a new element in an array of elements is expensive because the room has to be created for the new elements and to create room existing elements have to be shifted.
What is Linked List ?
Linked List can be defined as collection of objects called nodes that are randomly stored in the memory.
A node contains two fields i.e. data stored at that particular address and the pointer which contains the address of the next node in the memory.
The last node of the list contains pointer to the null.
C
C++
Java
Python
C
// Linked list implementation in C
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
// Creating a node
struct node {
int value;
struct node *next;
};
// print the linked list value
void printLinkedlist(struct node *p) {
while (p != NULL) {
printf("%d ", p->value);
p = p->next;
}
}
int main() {
// Initialize nodes
struct node *head;
struct node *one = NULL;
struct node *two = NULL;
struct node *three = NULL;
// Allocate memory
one = malloc(sizeof(struct node));
two = malloc(sizeof(struct node));
three = malloc(sizeof(struct node));
// Assign value values
one->value = 1;
two->value = 2;
three->value = 3;
// Connect nodes
one->next = two;
two->next = three;
three->next = NULL;
// printing node-value
head = one;
printLinkedlist(head);
}
C++
// Linked list implementation in C++
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
// Creating a node
class Node {
public:
int value;
Node* next;
};
int main() {
Node* head;
Node* one = NULL;
Node* two = NULL;
Node* three = NULL;
// allocate 3 nodes in the heap
one = new Node();
two = new Node();
three = new Node();
// Assign value values
one->value = 1;
two->value = 2;
three->value = 3;
// Connect nodes
one->next = two;
two->next = three;
three->next = NULL;
// print the linked list value
head = one;
while (head != NULL) {
cout << head->value;
head = head->next;
}
}
Java
// Linked list implementation in Java
class LinkedList {
// Creating a node
Node head;
static class Node {
int value;
Node next;
Node(int d) {
value = d;
next = null;
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
LinkedList linkedList = new LinkedList();
// Assign value values
linkedList.head = new Node(1);
Node second = new Node(2);
Node third = new Node(3);
// Connect nodess
linkedList.head.next = second;
second.next = third;
// printing node-value
while (linkedList.head != null) {
System.out.print(linkedList.head.value + " ");
linkedList.head = linkedList.head.next;
}
}
}
Python
# Linked list implementation in Python
class Node:
# Creating a node
def __init__(self, item):
self.item = item
self.next = None
class LinkedList:
def __init__(self):
self.head = None
if __name__ == '__main__':
linked_list = LinkedList()
# Assign item values
linked_list.head = Node(1)
second = Node(2)
third = Node(3)
# Connect nodes
linked_list.head.next = second
second.next = third
# Print the linked list item
while linked_list.head != None:
print(linked_list.head.item, end=" ")
linked_list.head = linked_list.head.next
Linked lists can be of multiple types: singly, doubly, and circular linked list.
Linked List Complexity
Time Complexity
| Worst case | Average Case | |
|---|---|---|
| Search | O(n) | O(n) |
| Insert | O(1) | O(1) |
| Deletion | O(1) | O(1) |
Applications of linked list data structure
- Implementation of stacks and queues.
- Implementation of graphs
- Dynamic memory allocation
- Maintaining directory of names.
- In undo functionality of softwares
