Linked Lists: Introduction and Advantages

In computer science, a linked list is a linear data structure made up of nodes, where each node contains a data element and a reference (link) to the next node in the sequence.

Unlike arrays, linked lists do not require contiguous memory locations to store elements. Instead, each node in a linked list contains a pointer/reference to the next node, which allows for efficient insertion and deletion of elements anywhere in the list.

Advantages of Linked Lists

• Dynamic Size: Linked lists can grow or shrink dynamically, allowing for efficient memory utilization.

• Insertion and Deletion: Adding or removing elements in a linked list can be done by adjusting the pointers, without the need for shifting elements as in arrays.

• Efficient Memory Allocation: Linked lists can use memory efficiently by allocating memory block based on the number of nodes. This makes linked lists suitable for systems with limited memory.

Implementation in Python

Here is an example implementation of a singly linked list in Python:

1if __name__ == '__main__':
2    class Node:
3        def __init__(self, data):
4            self.data = data
5            self.next = None
6
7    class LinkedList:
8        def __init__(self):
9            self.head = None
10
11        def append(self, data):
12            new_node = Node(data)
13            if self.head is None:
14                self.head = new_node
15            else:
16                current_node = self.head
17                while current_node.next:
18                    current_node = current_node.next
19                current_node.next = new_node
20
21        def print_list(self):
22            current_node = self.head
23            while current_node:
24                print(current_node.data, end=' ')
25                current_node = current_node.next
26
27    linked_list = LinkedList()
28    linked_list.append(1)
29    linked_list.append(2)
30    linked_list.append(3)
31    linked_list.print_list()

This implementation demonstrates how to create a linked list, append nodes to it, and print the list.

Try executing the above Python code to see the output.

xxxxxxxxxx

    linked_list.print_list()

if __name__ == '__main__':

    # Python code here

    class Node:

        def __init__(self, data):

            self.data = data

            self.next = None

​

    # Create the LinkedList class

    class LinkedList:

        def __init__(self):

            self.head = None

​

        def append(self, data):

            new_node = Node(data)

            if self.head is None:

                self.head = new_node

            else:

                current_node = self.head

                while current_node.next:

                    current_node = current_node.next

                current_node.next = new_node

​

        def print_list(self):

            current_node = self.head

            while current_node:

                print(current_node.data, end=' ')

                current_node = current_node.next

​

    # Usage example