Mr.

Muhammad Umer
Department of Computer Science,
KFUEIT

Data Structures & Algorithms

[COSC-2101]
Hadith of the day
• Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abee Talib (RA) reported:
I memorised from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him): “Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does
not make you doubt.”
Source: Tirmidhi Hadith No. 11
 Terminology

First of all, let’s have a look at the term “Linked List”.

Why is Linked List actually called Linked List?
 Terminology

Link

For the term “Link” - as an analogy - think of a weblink –

when you click on it, it brings you from one website to the next.
 Terminology

List

A list is a collection of related objects.

Think of a shopping list - it contains every item that you plan to
buy.
 Terminology
Linked List

•So a Linked List is a collection of related objects, where a link will

bring you from one item to the next item.
 Terminology

Linked List

Linked list is a linear data structure. It contains nodes. Each node contains two
parts, i.e. DATA part and LINK part.
• The data contains elements and
• Link contains address of another node.

Technically, in our Linked List, an item or entry of the list…

 Limitation of Arrays

Arrays are simple to understand and elements of an array are easily

accessible
• But arrays have some limitations.
• Arrays have a fixed dimension.
• Once the size of an array is decided it can not be increased or
decreased during education.
• Array elements are always stored in contiguous memory locations.
• Operations like insertion or deletion of the array are pretty
tedious.
• To over come this limitations we use linked list.
 Node

Data is stored in a so called “Node”.

 Node

23

In our simple example, this entry is the number twenty three.

 Node

23

Each node has a link or pointer to the next element of the list,
the next node.
 Singly Linked List

23

For every item that we want to add to the Linked List,

we create a node and store the item in it.
 Singly Linked List

23

The first item of the list is usually called the

head, the last item of the list the tail of the
list.
 Singly Linked List

23 3

For every new item, we create a new node…

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9

… and link to it from the last element of the list.

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

So a Linked List is a dynamic data structure,

that can hold any number of elements,
as long as enough memory is available.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

next ( )

After the list is created, to navigate through the list

we call a function like next()
which uses the link to go from one item to the
next.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

This type of a Linked List is called a Singly Linked List

because the links only go in one direction -
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

from the head of the list -

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

- to the tail.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

So to navigate to the previous element,

for example from the element 42 -
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

to the element 9
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

you have to go back to the head of the list -

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

next ( )

and you have to call the function next() -

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

on every single element -

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

next ( )

until you reach the element 9.

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

If the list contains a lot of elements, this may take some time.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

Inserting an element after the current element is relatively

easy with a Singly Linked List.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

17

You create a new Node containing the new element.

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

17

You link to the new element „17“ from the current element
„9”.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

17

You add a link pointing from the new “17” element

to the existing “42” element.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 17 42

And you’r done.

 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

Inserting the same element BEFORE the current element

is possible in a Singly Linked List, but usually not very
efficient.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

It will require to navigate to the previous element,

starting from the beginning of the list, as I showed you before.
 Singly Linked List

23 3 9 42

Removing an element from a Singly Linked List

has the same issue –
it is possible, but generally not very efficient.
 Node

23

These operations get much easier,

when you add a second link to each node,
pointing to the previous element.
 Node

23

This way you can navigate in both directions of the list.

 Node

23

However the extra link comes at a cost, of extra memory,

as well as time to build the more complex structure.
 Node

23

If this overhead is justified, I cannot generally answer,

as it will differ for each use case.
If performance is an issue, I advise you to test different
options.
 Doubly Linked List

23

so a Linked List that contains nodes that provide a link to the next
and the previous node is called a “Doubly Linked
List”.
 Doubly Linked List

23 3

For every element that you add to a Doubly Linked List,

you need to create two links,
so creating a Doubly Linked List is somewhat more
complicated.
 Doubly Linked List

23 3 9

Navigation in both directions in a Doubly Linked List is easier,

but at the cost of a more complex structure.
 Doubly Linked List

23 3 9 42

Based on the two way link structure…

 Doubly Linked List
17

23 3 9 42

adding or removing an element before

or
after the current element is relatively
easy.
 Doubly Linked List
17

23 3 9 42

Here we will add the element “17” before the current element
“9”.
 Doubly Linked List
17

23 3 9 42

The back link from element “9” to element “3” is removed…

 Doubly Linked List
17

23 3 9 42

and replaced by a back link to the new element

“17”.
 Doubly Linked List
17

23 3 9 42

From the new element “17” we link to the next element “9”.
 Doubly Linked List
17

23 3 9 42

…next, we place a back link from 17 to 3…

 Doubly Linked List
17

23 3 9 42

The old link from element 3 to 9 is replaced by a link from 3 to 17.

 Doubly Linked List

23 3 17 9 42

Removing an element from a Doubly Linked List has

the same steps
as inserting an element to the list, just in reverse
order.
 Node
public class Node<E> {
private E item;
private Node<E> next;

public Node(E element,

Node<E> next) {
this.item = element;
this.next = next;
}

public E item() {
return item;
}

public Node<E> next() {

return next;
}
[…]
}
Let‘s look at a code excerpt of a Node in a Singly Linked List.
So you have a method to retrieve the item of a Node,
and a method to go to the next Node.
 Node
public class Node<E> {
private E item;
private Node<E>
previous;
private Node<E> next;

public Node(Node<E>
previous, E element,
Node<E> next) {
this.item = element;
this.next = next;
this.previous = previous;
}

public E item() {
return item;
}
public Node<E> previous()
{ return previous;
}
public Node<E> next() {
return next;
}
[…]

}
The Node of a Doubly Linked List is very similar,
but a bit more complex.
Additionally, you have a reference to the previous
Node.
 LinkedList
public class LinkedList<E> {
private Node<E>
currentNode;
private Node<E>
head;

public E get(int index) {…}

public boolean add(E e) {…}
public E remove(int index) {…}

[…]
}

A LinkedList usually
contains a link to the
head of the List.
 LinkedList
public class LinkedList<E> {
private Node<E>
currentNode;
private Node<E>
head;

public E get(int index) {…}

public boolean add(E e) {…}
[…]public E remove(int index) {…}
}
The concrete implementation of methods to get,
add or remove an element from the list,
depends on the type of the node,
but such an implementation detail is
usually hidden from a user of the list.
 LinkedList
public class LinkedList<E> {
private Node<E>
currentNode;
private Node<E> head;
private Node<E>
tail;
public E get(int index) {…}
public boolean add(E e) {…}
[…]public E remove(int index) {…}
}
Besides the direct link to the current node
of the list and the head of the list,
a Linked List may also provide a direct link to the tail of the list.
This is common for a Doubly Linked List,
but may also be beneficial for a Singly Linked List.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)

Let’s have a look at different application

scenarios for a Linked List.
A Linked List can be used to implement data structures like
List, Queue, Stack or Double Ended Queue.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
When comparing implementations
based on a Singly- or a Doubly Linked List,
there is no overall winner.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)

Both have advantages and disadvantages that

make them useful for different application scenarios.
 Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
Using the example of List, Queue, Stack and Double Ended Queue
we will in each case decide for a
Singly- or a Doubly Linked based implementation.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
An implementation with other data structures,
for example an array,
is also possible, but that’s a different story.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
A list usually requires random access to any element of the list,
so I would recommend
an implementation based on a Doubly Linked List.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
In a so called “first in first out”
Queue,
new elements are inserted at the tail of the queue and
removed from the head of the queue.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
Random access is not required,
so I would recommend
an implementation based on a Singly
Linked List.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
A Stack provides a so called “Last in
First out” order.
Elements are added and removed from the head of the Stack,
which makes it even more simple then a Queue.
Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)

Therefore a Singly Linked List is

usually sufficient.
 Application Scenarios
List
Queue
Stack
Double Ended Queue
(Deque)
A Double Ended Queue or Deque is a very dynamic data structure.
It allows to access, add or remove elements from both ends.
Therefore I would use a Doubly Linked List to implement a Deque.
References
 2015, Marcus Biel, http://www.marcus-biel.com/