Linked List

Definition
 A linked list is a data structure that
consists of a sequence of data
records such that each record contains
a reference (i.e., a link) to the next record
in the sequence.
 Each data record in a linked list is called a
node
 Each node consists of two fields
 Data Field
 Link Field
Pros and Cons a linked list
 Pros
 Easy to insert data elements
 Easy to delete data elements

 Cons
 No Random access
 Searching is not efficient
Explanation
 Think of Linked List like a train.
 Always store the address of first node of the
list.
 This would be the engine of the train.
 The pointer is the connector between cars of
the train.
 Every time the train adds a car, it uses the
connectors to add a new car.
 This is like a programmer using the keyword
new to create a pointer to a new struct.
 Each of the big blocks is a struct that has a
pointer to another one.
 Remember that the pointer only stores the
memory location of something.
 At the end, there is nothing for the pointer to
point to, so it does not point to anything, it
should be a null pointer or a dummy node to
prevent it from accidentally pointing to a totally
arbitrary and random location in memory.
Code
struct node {
int data;
node *link;
};
int main() {
node *start; // This will be the unchanging first node
start = new node; // Now start points to a node struct
start->link = NULL; // The node stat points to has its next
pointer set equal to a null pointer
start->data = 5; // By using the -> operator, you can
modify the node
}
Structure
 A data structure is a group of data elements grouped
together under one name
 These data elements, known as members, can have
different types and different lengths. Data structures are
declared in C++ using the following syntax:

struct structure_name {
member_type1 member_name1;
member_type2 member_name2;
member_type3 member_name3;
.
.
} object_names;
Example
struct product {
int weight;
float price;
};
product apple;
product banana, melon;
Traversing
 Traversing means to visit each element in a data structure
once.
 It is necessary to understand how to traverse the linked list
before going further.
 Think back to the train.
 Lets imagine a conductor
 The Conductor can only enter the train through the engine
 It can walk through the train down the line as long as the
connector connects to another car.
 In a similar pattern the program will traverse the linked
list.
 The conductor will be a pointer to node, and it will first
point to start, and then
 If the start’s pointer to the next node is
pointing to something, the "conductor" will be
set to point to the link node
(conductor=conductor->link;)
 In this fashion, the list can be traversed.
 Now, as long as there is a pointer to
something, the traversal will continue.
 Once it reaches a null pointer (or dummy
node), meaning there are no more nodes
(train cars) then it will be at the end of the
list, and a new node can subsequently be
added if so desired
Code
struct node {
int data;
node *link;
};
int main() {
node *start; // This won't change, or we would lose the list in memory
node *conductor; // This will point to each node as it traverses the list
start = new node; // Sets it to actually point to something
start->link = NULL; // Otherwise it would not work well
start->data = 12;
conductor = start; // The conductor points to the first node
if ( conductor != 0 ) {
while ( conductor->link != 0)
conductor = conductor->link;
}
node *t;
t = new node; // Creates a node t
t->data = 42;
t->link = NULL; //Prevents it from going any further
conductor->link = t; // adds the node at the end of the inked list
}
Display the linked list
for( q = start ; q != NULL ; q = q->link )
cout<<endl<<q->data;