What Is Link List in Data Structure With Example?

In data structure, a linked list is a linear data structure where elements are stored in a sequence and each element points to the next element in the list. It consists of nodes, where each node contains both data and a reference (or link) to the next node.

Example:

To understand better, let’s consider an example of a linked list representing a group of friends:

The Node Structure

In order to implement a linked list, we need to define the structure of each node. In this example, each node will have two components:

• Data: This represents the information stored in the node. In our case, it can be the name of a friend.
• Next: This is a reference that points to the next node in the linked list.

We can define this structure using a class in many programming languages. Here’s an example implementation in C++:

class Node {
public:
    string data;
    Node* next;
};

The Linked List Implementation

Once we have defined the structure of each node, we can start implementing our linked list. We need to keep track of two important things:

• Head: This points to the first node in the linked list.
• Tail: This points to the last node in the linked list.

We initialize both head and tail as null when there are no elements in the linked list.

Inserting Elements

To insert an element into the linked list, we need to perform the following steps:

1. Create a new node and assign the data to it.
2. Set the next of the new node to null.
3. If the linked list is empty, set both head and tail to point to the new node.
4. Otherwise, set the next of the current tail to point to the new node, and update tail to be the new node.

Here’s an example of how we can insert elements into our linked list:

void insertElement(string data) {
    Node* newNode = new Node();
    newNode->data = data;
    newNode->next = NULL;

    if (head == NULL) {
        head = tail = newNode;
    } else {
        tail->next = newNode;
        tail = newNode;
    }
}

Traversing Elements

To traverse (or visit) each element in a linked list, we start from the head and keep moving to the next node until we reach null. We can perform any desired operations on each node during traversal.

Here’s an example implementation of traversing our linked list:

void traverseList() {
    Node* currentNode = head;

    while (currentNode != NULL) {
        // Perform operations on currentNode
        // For example: printing data
        cout << currentNode->data << " ";

        currentNode = currentNode->next;
    }
}

Conclusion

A linked list is a fundamental data structure in computer science. It provides flexibility in adding and removing elements dynamically. Understanding how a linked list works is crucial for building more complex data structures and algorithms that rely on efficient memory management.

The example provided here demonstrates a basic implementation of a linked list. However, there are many variations and optimizations that can be applied depending on the specific requirements of an application.

With this knowledge, you can start exploring more advanced topics such as doubly linked lists, circular linked lists, and different operations like deletion and searching.

Remember to practice implementing and manipulating linked lists to solidify your understanding of this important data structure.