Singly Linked List Tutorial

A singly linked list is a fundamental data structure, it consists of nodes where each node contains a data field and a reference to the next node in the linked list. The next of the last node is null, indicating the end of the list. Linked Lists support efficient insertion and deletion operations.

Understanding Node Structure

In a singly linked list, each node consists of two parts: data and a pointer to the next node. This structure allows nodes to be dynamically linked together, forming a chain-like sequence.

In this example, the Node class contains an integer data field (data) to store the information and a pointer to another Node (next) to establish the link to the next node in the list.

Creating an Example Linked List of Size 3 to Understand Working

Create the first node

• Allocate memory for the first node and Store data in it.
• Mark this node as head.

Create the second node

• Allocate memory for the second node and Store data in it.
• Link the first node’s next to this new node.

Create the third node

• Allocate memory for the third node and Store data in it.
• Link the second node’s next to this node.
• Set its next to NULL to ensure that the next of the last is NULL.

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Common Operation in Linked List

A linked list supports several operations. Here are the most common ones:

• Traversal :Traversing singly linked list
• Insertion : At the beginning, At the end and At a specific position
• Deletion : From beginning, From end and From a specific position
• Searching : Find whether a given key exists in the list
• Updating (Modification) : Modify contents of linked list.
• Reversal : Reverse the linked list and make the last node as new head.

Applications of Linked List

Advantage

• Dynamic size (no fixed limit like arrays)
• Efficient insertion and deletion at beginning and end. We also have insertion at the middle efficient if we have reference or pointer to the node after which we need to insert.
• Can implement complex data structures like stack, queue, graph

Disadvantage

• Extra memory required for storing pointers
• No direct/random access (need traversal)
• Cache unfriendly (not stored in contiguous memory)