Linked List

Linked List is a part of the collection framework present in java.util.*. This class is an implementation of
the linkedList datastructure which is a linear data structure where the elements are not stored in
contiguous locations and every element is a separate object with a data part and address part. The
elements are linked using pointers and addresses. Each element is known as a node.

Due to the dynamicity and ease of insertions and deletions, they are preferred over the arrays. It also
has a few disadvantages like the nodes cannot be accessed directly instead we need to start from the
head and follow through the link to reach a node we wish to access.

How Does LinkedList work Internally?

Since a LinkedList acts as a dynamic array and we do not have to specify the size while creating it, the
size of the list automatically increases when we dynamically add and remove items. And also, the
elements are not stored in a continuous fashion. Therefore, there is no need to increase the size.
Internally, the LinkedList is implemented using the doubly linked list data structure.

The main difference between a normal linked list and a doubly LinkedList is that a doubly linked list
contains an extra pointer, typically called the previous pointer, together with the next pointer and data
which are there in the singly linked list.

Constructors in the LinkedList:

In order to create a LinkedList, we need to create an object of the LinkedList class. The LinkedList class
consists of various constructors that allow the possible creation of the list. The following are the
constructors available in this class:
1. LinkedList(): This constructor is used to create an empty linked list. If we wish to create an empty
LinkedList with the name ll, then, it can be created as:

LinkedList ll = new LinkedList();

2. LinkedList(Collection C): This constructor is used to create an ordered list that contains all the
elements of a specified collection, as returned by the collection’s iterator. If we wish to create a
LinkedList with the name ll, then, it can be created as:

LinkedList ll = new LinkedList(C);

Methods for Java LinkedList:

Method Description

add(int index, E element) This method Inserts the specified element at the specified position in
Method Description

this list.

add(E e) This method Appends the specified element to the end of this list.

addAll(int index, Collection<E> This method Inserts all of the elements in the specified collection
c) into this list, starting at the specified position.

This method Appends all of the elements in the specified collection

addAll(Collection<E> c) to the end of this list, in the order that they are returned by the
specified collection’s iterator.

This method Inserts the specified element at the beginning of this

addFirst(E e)
list.

addLast(E e) This method Appends the specified element to the end of this list.

clear() This method removes all of the elements from this list.

clone() This method returns a shallow copy of this LinkedList.

contains(Object o) This method returns true if this list contains the specified element.

This method returns an iterator over the elements in this deque in

descendingIterator()
reverse sequential order.

This method retrieves but does not remove, the head (first element)
element()
of this list.
Method Description

get(int index) This method returns the element at the specified position in this list.

getFirst() This method returns the first element in this list.

getLast() This method returns the last element in this list.

This method returns the index of the first occurrence of the specified
indexOf(Object o)
element in this list, or -1 if this list does not contain the element.

This method returns the index of the last occurrence of the specified
lastIndexOf(Object o)
element in this list, or -1 if this list does not contain the element.

This method returns a list-iterator of the elements in this list (in

listIterator(int index)
proper sequence), starting at the specified position in the list.

This method Adds the specified element as the tail (last element) of
offer(E e)
this list.

offerFirst(E e) This method Inserts the specified element at the front of this list.

offerLast(E e) This method Inserts the specified element at the end of this list.

This method retrieves but does not remove, the head (first element)
peek()
of this list.

This method retrieves, but does not remove, the first element of this
peekFirst()
list, or returns null if this list is empty.

peekLast() This method retrieves, but does not remove, the last element of this
Method Description

list, or returns null if this list is empty.

This method retrieves and removes the head (first element) of this
poll()
list.

This method retrieves and removes the first element of this list, or
pollFirst()
returns null if this list is empty.

This method retrieves and removes the last element of this list, or
pollLast()
returns null if this list is empty.

pop() This method Pops an element from the stack represented by this list.

This method pushes an element onto the stack represented by this

push(E e)
list.

This method retrieves and removes the head (first element) of this
remove()
list.

This method removes the element at the specified position in this

remove(int index)
list.

This method removes the first occurrence of the specified element

remove(Object o)
from this list if it is present.

removeFirst() This method removes and returns the first element from this list.

removeFirstOccurrence(Object This method removes the first occurrence of the specified element in
o) this list (when traversing the list from head to tail).
Method Description

removeLast() This method removes and returns the last element from this list.

removeLastOccurrence(Object This method removes the last occurrence of the specified element in
o) this list (when traversing the list from head to tail).

This method replaces the element at the specified position in this list
set(int index, E element)
with the specified element.

size() This method returns the number of elements in this list.

This method creates a late-binding and fail-fast Spliterator over the

spliterator()
elements in this list.

This method returns an array containing all of the elements in this list
toArray()
in proper sequence (from first to last element).

This method returns an array containing all of the elements in this list
toArray(T[] a) in proper sequence (from first to last element); the runtime type of
the returned array is that of the specified array.

This method returns a string containing all of the elements in this list
toString() in proper sequence (from first to the last element), each element is
separated by commas and the String is enclosed in square brackets.

Below is the implementation of the above operations:

Java

// Java Program to Demonstrate

// Implementation of LinkedList
// class

// Importing required classes

import java.util.*;

// Main class

public class GFG {

// Driver code

public static void main(String args[])

// Creating object of the

// class linked list

LinkedList<String> ll = new LinkedList<String>();

// Adding elements to the linked list

ll.add("A");

ll.add("B");

ll.addLast("C");

ll.addFirst("D");

ll.add(2, "E");

System.out.println(ll);

ll.remove("B");

ll.remove(3);

ll.removeFirst();

ll.removeLast();

System.out.println(ll);

}
 }

Output

[D, A, E, B, C]

[A]

Below is the implementation of the above operation:

// Java program to add elements

// to a LinkedList

import java.util.*;

public class GFG {

public static void main(String args[])

LinkedList<String> ll = new LinkedList<>();

ll.add("Krishna");

ll.add("Shyam");

ll.add(1, "Arjun");

System.out.println(ll);

Output

[Krishna,Shyam, Arjun]

Operation 2: Changing Elements

After adding the elements, if we wish to change the element, it can be done using the set() method.
Since a LinkedList is indexed, the element which we wish to change is referenced by the index of the
element. Therefore, this method takes an index and the updated element which needs to be inserted at
that index.
Below is the implementation of the above operation:

Java

// Java program to change elements

// in a LinkedList

import java.util.*;

public class GFG {

public static void main(String args[])

LinkedList<String> ll = new LinkedList<>();

ll.add("Krishna");

ll.add("Krishna");

ll.add(1, "Krishna");

System.out.println("Initial LinkedList " + ll);

ll.set(1, "Arjun");

System.out.println("Updated LinkedList " + ll);

Output

Initial LinkedList [Krishna, Krishna, Krishna]

Updated LinkedList [Krishna, Arjun, Krishna]

Operation 3: Removing Elements

In order to remove an element from a LinkedList, we can use the remove() method. This method is
overloaded to perform multiple operations based on different parameters. They are:

remove(Object): This method is used to simply remove an object from the LinkedList. If there are
multiple such objects, then the first occurrence of the object is removed.
remove(int index): Since a LinkedList is indexed, this method takes an integer value which simply
removes the element present at that specific index in the LinkedList. After removing the element and
the indices of elements are updated so do the object of LinkedList is updated giving a new List after the
deletion of element/s.

Below is the implementation of the above operation:

Java

// Java program to remove elements

// in a LinkedList

import java.util.*;

public class GFG {

public static void main(String args[])

LinkedList<String> ll = new LinkedList<>();

ll.add("Krishna ");

ll.add("Krishna ");

ll.add(1, "Arjun");

System.out.println("Initial LinkedList " + ll);

// Function call

ll.remove(1);

System.out.println("After the Index Removal " + ll);

ll.remove("Krishna");

System.out.println("After the Object Removal "

+ ll);

Output
Initial LinkedList [Krishna, Arjun, Krishna]

After the Index Removal [Krishna, Krishna]

After the Object Removal [Krishna]

Operation 4: Iterating the LinkedList

There are multiple ways to iterate through LinkedList. The most famous ways are by using the basic for
loop in combination with a get() method to get the element at a specific index and the advanced for-
loop.

Below is the implementation of the above operation:

Java

// Java program to iterate the elements

// in an LinkedList

import java.util.*;

public class GFG {

public static void main(String args[])

LinkedList<String> ll

= new LinkedList<>();

ll.add("Krishna ");

ll.add("Krishna ");

ll.add(1, " Arjun ");

// Using the Get method and the

// for loop

for (int i = 0; i < ll.size(); i++) {

System.out.print(ll.get(i) + " ");

}
 System.out.println();

// Using the for each loop

for (String str : ll)

System.out.print(str + " ");

Output

Krishna Arjun Krishna

Krishna Arjun Krishna

Operation 4: Linked list to To Array by using toArray();

Java

import java.util.*;

public class GFG2 {

public static void main(String[] args)

LinkedList<Integer> list= new LinkedList<Integer>();

list.add(123);

list.add(12);

list.add(11);

list.add(1134);

System.out.println("LinkedList: "+ list);

Object[] a = list.toArray();

System.out.print("After converted LinkedList to Array: ");

for(Object element : a)
 System.out.print(element+" ");

Output

LinkedList: [123, 12, 11, 1134]

After converted LinkedList to Array: 123 12 11 1134

Operation 5-size();

Java

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class GFG2 {

public static void main(String args[]) {

LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

list.add("Krishna Arjun Krishna ");

list.add("is best ");

// Displaying the size of the list

System.out.println("The size of the linked list is: " + list.size());

Output

The size of the linked list is: 2

Operation 7 – removeFirst();

Java
 import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class GFG2 {

public static void main(String args[]) {

LinkedList<Integer> list = new LinkedList<Integer>();

list.add(10);

list.add(20);

list.add(30);

System.out.println("LinkedList:" + list);

System.out.println("The remove first element is: " + list.removeFirst());

// Displaying the final list

System.out.println("Final LinkedList:" + list);

Output

LinkedList:[10, 20, 30]

The remove first element is: 10

Final LinkedList:[20, 30]

Operation 8- removelast();

Java

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class GFG2 {

public static void main(String args[])

 {

LinkedList<Integer> list = new LinkedList<Integer>();

list.add(10);

list.add(20);

list.add(30);

System.out.println("LinkedList:" + list);

// Remove the tail using removeLast()

System.out.println("The last element is removed: " + list.removeLast());

// Displaying the final list

System.out.println("Final LinkedList:" + list);

// Remove the tail using removeLast()

System.out.println("The last element is removed: " + list.removeLast());

// Displaying the final list

System.out.println("Final LinkedList:" + list);

Output

LinkedList:[10, 20, 30]

The last element is removed: 30

Final LinkedList:[10, 20]

The last element is removed: 20

Final LinkedList:[10]

The LinkedList class in Java is a part of the Java Collections Framework and provides a linked list
implementation of the List interface. It allows for the storage and retrieval of elements in a doubly-
linked list data structure, where each element is linked to its predecessor and successor elements.

Here is a simple example that demonstrates how to use a LinkedList in Java:

Java

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class LinkedListExample {

public static void main(String[] args) {

// Create a new linked list

LinkedList<Integer> linkedList = new LinkedList<>();

// Add elements to the linked list

linkedList.add(1);

linkedList.add(2);

linkedList.add(3);

// Add an element to the beginning of the linked list

linkedList.addFirst(0);

// Add an element to the end of the linked list

linkedList.addLast(4);

// Print the elements of the linked list

for (int i : linkedList) {

System.out.println(i);

Output

3
4

// Java Program to Illustrate add() Method

// of LinkedList class

// Where we are Adding at Last of List

// Importing required classes

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

// Main class

public class GFG {

// Main driver method

public static void main(String args[])

// Creating an empty LinkedList

LinkedList list = new LinkedList();

// Adding elements in the list

// using add() method

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// Printing the elements of current LinkedList

System.out.println("The list is:" + list);

// Adding new elements to the end

// Note: Default addition happens from last

 list.add("Last");

list.add("Element");

// Printing elements of updated LinkedList

System.out.println("The new List is:" + list);

// Java Program to Illustrate add() Method

// of LinkedList class

// Where we are Adding at Last of List

// Importing required classes

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

// Main class

public class GFG {

// Main driver method

public static void main(String args[])

// Creating an empty LinkedList

LinkedList list = new LinkedList();

// Adding elements in the list

// using add() method

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");
 list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// Printing the elements of current LinkedList

System.out.println("The list is:" + list);

// Adding new elements to the end

// Note: Default addition happens from last

list.add("Last");

list.add("Element");

// Printing elements of updated LinkedList

System.out.println("The new List is:" + list);

// Java code to illustrate boolean addAll()

import java.util.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

import java.util.ArrayList;

public class LinkedListDemo {

public static void main(String args[]) {

// Creating an empty LinkedList

LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

// Use add() method to add elements in the list

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");
 list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// A collection is created

Collection<String> collect = new ArrayList<String>();

collect.add("A");

collect.add("Computer");

collect.add("Portal");

collect.add("for");

collect.add("CodingMonk");

// Displaying the list

System.out.println("The LinkedList is: " + list);

// Appending the collection to the list

list.addAll(collect);

// Clearing the list using clear() and displaying

System.out.println("The new linked list is: " + list);

// Java code to illustrate boolean addAll()

import java.util.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

import java.util.ArrayList;

public class LinkedListDemo {

public static void main(String args[]) {

// Creating an empty LinkedList

LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

 // Use add() method to add elements in the list

list.add("Krishna");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// A collection is created

Collection<String> collect = new ArrayList<String>();

collect.add("A");

collect.add("Computer");

collect.add("Portal");

collect.add("for");

collect.add("CodingMonk");

// Displaying the list

System.out.println("The LinkedList is: " + list);

// Appending the collection to the list

list.addAll(collect);

// Clearing the list using clear() and displaying

System.out.println("The new linked list is: " + list);

// Java code to illustrate addFirst() method of class LinkedList

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class LinkedListDemo {

 public static void main(String args[])

// creating an empty LinkedList

LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

// use add() method to add elements in the list

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// Output the present list

System.out.println("The list is:" + list);

// Adding new elements at the beginning

list.addFirst("First");

list.addFirst("At");

// Displaying the new list

System.out.println("The new List is:" + list);

// Java code to illustrate boolean addLast()

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class LinkedListDemo {

public static void main(String args[]) {

// Creating an empty LinkedList

 LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

// Use add() method to add elements in the list

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// Displaying the current list

System.out.println("The list is:" + list);

// Adding new elements at the end of list using addLast()

list.addLast("At");

list.addLast("Last");

// Displaying the new list

System.out.println("The new List is:" + list);

// Java code to illustrate boolean clear()

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class LinkedListDemo {

public static void main(String args[])

// Creating an empty LinkedList

LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

// Using add() method to add elements in the list

 list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// Displaying the List

System.out.println("Original LinkedList:" + list);

// Clearing the list

list.clear();

// Accessing the List after clearing it

System.out.println("List after clearing all elements: " + list);

// Adding elements after clearing the list

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");

// Displaying the List

System.out.println("After adding elements to empty list:" + list);

// Java code to illustrate clone() method

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class LinkedListDemo {

public static void main(String args[]) {

// Creating an empty LinkedList

 LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

// Use add() method to add elements in the list

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna ");

list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// Displaying the list

System.out.println("First LinkedList:" + list);

// Creating another linked list and copying

LinkedList sec_list = new LinkedList();

sec_list = (LinkedList) list.clone();

// Displaying the other linked list

System.out.println("Second LinkedList is:" + sec_list);

// Java code to illustrate boolean contains()

import java.io.*;

import java.util.LinkedList;

public class LinkedListDemo {

public static void main(String args[]) {

// Creating an empty LinkedList

LinkedList<String> list = new LinkedList<String>();

// Use add() method to add elements in the list

list.add("Krishna ");
 list.add("Arjun");

list.add("Krishna");

list.add("10");

list.add("20");

// Output the list

System.out.println("LinkedList:" + list);

// Check if the list contains "Hello"

System.out.println("\nDoes the List contains 'Hello': "+ list.contains("Hello"));

// Check if the list contains "20"

System.out.println("Does the List contains '20': "+ list.contains("20"));

// Check if the list contains " Krishna "

System.out.println("Does the List contains ' Krishna ': "+ list.contains("Krishna "));

Advantages of using LinkedList in Java:

Dynamic size: As with Vector, the size of a LinkedList can grow or shrink dynamically, so you don’t have
to worry about setting an initial size.

Efficient Insertions and Deletions: LinkedList is an efficient data structure for inserting or deleting
elements in the middle of the list because you only need to change the links between elements, rather
than shifting all elements after the insertion or deletion point.

Flexible Iteration: With a linked list, you can efficiently iterate through the list in either direction, since
each element has a reference to both its predecessor and successor elements.

Disadvantages of using LinkedList in Java:

Performance: LinkedList has a slower performance than ArrayList when it comes to accessing individual
elements. This is because you need to traverse the list to reach the desired element, whereas with
ArrayList, you can simply access the desired element using an index.

Memory overhead: LinkedList requires more memory than ArrayList because each element requires
additional memory for the links to its predecessor and successor elements.