Linked Lists

CENG 213 Data Structures 1

 Linked List Basics
• Linked lists and arrays are similar since they both
store collections of data.
• The array's features all follow from its strategy of
allocating the memory for all its elements in one
block of memory.
• Linked lists use an entirely different strategy:
linked lists allocate memory for each element
separately and only when necessary.

CENG 213 Data Structures 2

 Disadvantages of Arrays
1. The size of the array is fixed.
– In case of dynamically resizing the array from size S
to 2S, we need 3S units of available memory.
– Programmers allocate arrays which seem "large
enough” This strategy has two disadvantages: (a)
most of the time there are just 20% or 30% elements
in the array and 70% of the space in the array really is
wasted. (b) If the program ever needs to process more
than the declared size, the code breaks.
2. Inserting (and deleting) elements into the
middle of the array is potentially expensive
because existing elements need to be shifted over
to make room
CENG 213 Data Structures 3
 Linked lists
• Linked lists are appropriate when the number of
data elements to be represented in the data
structure at once is unpredictable.
• Linked lists are dynamic, so the length of a list can
increase or decrease as necessary.
• Each node does not necessarily follow the
previous one physically in the memory.
• Linked lists can be maintained in sorted order by
inserting or deleting an element at the proper point
in the list.
CENG 213 Data Structures 4
 Singly Linked Lists
head

next next next next

a b c d

First node Last node

CENG 213 Data Structures 5

 Empty List
• Empty Linked list is a single pointer having the
value of NULL.

head = NULL;

head

CENG 213 Data Structures 6

 Basic Ideas
• Let’s assume that the node is given by the
following type declaration:
struct Node {
Object element;
Node *next;
};

CENG 213 Data Structures 7

 Basic Linked List Operations
• List Traversal
• Searching a node
• Insert a node
• Delete a node

CENG 213 Data Structures 8

 Traversing a linked list
Node *pWalker;
int count = 0;

cout <<“List contains:\n”;

for (pWalker=pHead; pWalker!=NULL;

pWalker = pWalker->next)
{
count ++;
cout << pWalker->element << endl;
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 9

 Searching a node in a linked list
pCur = pHead;

// Search until target is found or we reach

// the end of list
while (pCur != NULL &&
pCur->element != target)
{
pCur = pCur->next;
}

//Determine if target is found

if (pCur) found = 1;
else found = 0;

CENG 213 Data Structures 10

 Insertion in a linked list
a b
… …

current
x
tmp
tmp = new Node;
tmp->element = x;
tmp->next = current->next;
current->next = tmp;

Or simply (if Node has a constructor initializing its members):

current->next = new Node(x,current->next);
CENG 213 Data Structures 11
 Deletion from a linked list

a x b
… …

current

Node *deletedNode = current->next;

current->next = current->next->next;
delete deletedNode;

CENG 213 Data Structures 12

 Special Cases (1)
• Inserting before the first node (or to an empty list):
tmp = new Node;
tmp->element = x;
if (current == NULL){
tmp->next = head;
head = tmp;
}
else { // Adding in middle or at end
tmp->next = curent->next;
current->next = tmp;
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 13

 Special Cases (2)
Node *deletedNode;
if (current == NULL){
// Deleting first node
deletedNode = head;
head = head ->next;
}
else{
// Deleting other nodes
deletedNode = current->next;
current->next = deletedNode ->next;
}
delete deletedNode;

CENG 213 Data Structures 14

 Header Nodes
• One problem with the basic description: it
assumes that whenever an item x is removed (or
inserted) some previous item is always present.
• Consequently removal of the first item and
inserting an item as a new first node become
special cases to consider.
• In order to avoid dealing with special cases:
introduce a header node (dummy node).
• A header node is an extra node in the list that
holds no data but serves to satisfy the requirement
that every node has a previous node.

CENG 213 Data Structures 15

 List with a header node
header

a b c d

Empty List
header

CENG 213 Data Structures 16

 Doubly Linked Lists
pHead

a b c

Advantages:
• Convenient to traverse the list backwards.
• Simplifies insertion and deletion because you no longer
have to refer to the previous node.
Disadvantage:
• Increase in space requirements.

CENG 213 Data Structures 17

 Deletion
head current

oldNode = current;
oldNode->prev->next = oldNode->next;
oldNode->next->prev = oldNode->prev;
delete oldNode;
current = head;

CENG 213 Data Structures 18

 Insertion
head current

newNode = new Node(x);

newNode->prev = current; newNode
newNode->next = current->next;
newNode->prev->next = newNode;
newNode->next->prev = newNode;
current = newNode;

CENG 213 Data Structures 19

 The List ADT in C++
 A list is implemented as three separate classes:
1. List itself (List)
2. Node (ListNode)
3. Position iterator(ListItr)

CENG 213 Data Structures 20

Linked List Node
template <class Object>
class List; // Incomplete declaration.

template <class Object>

class ListItr; // Incomplete declaration.

template <class Object>

class ListNode
{
ListNode(const Object & theElement = Object(),
ListNode * n = NULL )
: element( theElement ), next( n ) { }
Object element;
ListNode *next;

friend class List<Object>;

friend class ListItr<Object>;
};

CENG 213 Data Structures 21

 Iterator class for linked lists
template <class Object>
class ListItr
{
public:
ListItr( ) : current( NULL ) { }
bool isValid( ) const
{ return current != NULL; }
void advance( )
{ if(isValid( ) ) current = current->next; }
const Object & retrieve( ) const
{ if( !isValid( ) ) throw BadIterator( );
return current->element; }

private:
ListNode<Object> *current; // Current position

ListItr( ListNode<Object> *theNode )

: current( theNode ) { }

friend class List<Object>; //Grant access to constructor

};

CENG 213 Data Structures 22

 List Class Interface
template <class Object>
class List
{
public:
List( );
List( const List & rhs );
~List( );

bool isEmpty( ) const;

void makeEmpty( );
ListItr<Object> zeroth( ) const;
ListItr<Object> first( ) const;
void insert(const Object &x, const ListItr<Object> & p);
ListItr<Object> find( const Object & x ) const;
ListItr<Object> findPrevious( const Object & x ) const;
void remove( const Object & x );

const List & operator=( const List & rhs );

private:
ListNode<Object> *header;
};
CENG 213 Data Structures 23
Some List one-liners
/* Construct the list */
template <class Object>
List<Object>::List( )
{
header = new ListNode<Object>;
}
/* Test if the list is logically empty.
* return true if empty, false otherwise.*/
template <class Object>
bool List<Object>::isEmpty( ) const
{
return header->next == NULL;
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 24

/* Return an iterator representing the header node. */
template <class Object>
ListItr<Object> List<Object>::zeroth( ) const
{
return ListItr<Object>( header );
}
/* Return an iterator representing the first node in
the list. This operation is valid for empty lists.*/
template <class Object>
ListItr<Object> List<Object>::first( ) const
{
return ListItr<Object>( header->next );
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 25

 Other List methods
template <class Object>
ListItr<Object> List<Object>::find( const Object & x )
const
{
ListNode<Object> *itr = header->next;

while(itr != NULL && itr->element != x)

itr = itr->next;

return ListItr<Object>( itr );

}

CENG 213 Data Structures 26

Deletion routine
/* Remove the first occurrence of an item x. */
template <class Object>
void List<Object>::remove( const Object & x )
{
ListItr<Object> p = findPrevious( x );

if( p.current->next != NULL )

{
ListNode<Object> *oldNode = p.current->next;
p.current->next = p.current->next->next;
delete oldNode;
}
}
CENG 213 Data Structures 27
 Finding the previous node
/* Return iterator prior to the first node containing an
item x. */
template <class Object>
ListItr<Object> List<Object>::findPrevious( const Object
& x ) const
{
ListNode<Object> *itr = header;

while(itr->next!=NULL && itr->next->element!=x)

itr = itr->next;

return ListItr<Object>( itr );

}

CENG 213 Data Structures 28

Insertion routine
/* Insert item x after p */
template <class Object>
void List<Object>::insert(const Object & x,
const ListItr<Object> & p )
{
if( p.current != NULL )
p.current->next = new ListNode<Object>(x,
p.current->next );
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 29

 Memory Reclamation
/* Make the list logically empty */
template <class Object>
void List<Object>::makeEmpty( )
{
while( !isEmpty( ) )
remove( first( ).retrieve( ) );
}
/* Destructor */
template <class Object>
List<Object>:: ~List( )
{
makeEmpty( );
delete header;
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 30

 operator =
/* Deep copy of linked lists. */
template <class Object>
const List<Object> & List<Object>::operator=( const
List<Object> & rhs )
{
ListItr<Object> ritr = rhs.first( );
ListItr<Object> itr = zeroth( );

if( this != &rhs )

{
makeEmpty( );
for( ; ritr.isValid(); ritr.advance(), itr.advance())
insert( ritr.retrieve( ), itr );
}
return *this;
}
CENG 213 Data Structures 31
 Copy constructor
/* copy constructor. */
template <class Object>
List<Object>::List( const List<Object> & rhs )
{
header = new ListNode<Object>;
*this = rhs; // operator= is used here
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 32

Testing Linked List Interface
#include <iostream.h>
#include "LinkedList.h“

// Simple print method

template <class Object>

void printList( const List<Object> & theList )
{
if( theList.isEmpty( ) )
cout << "Empty list" << endl;
else {
ListItr<Object> itr = theList.first( );
for( ; itr.isValid( ); itr.advance( ) )
cout << itr.retrieve( ) << " ";
}
cout << endl;
}

CENG 213 Data Structures 33

 int main( )
{ List<int> theList;
ListItr<int> theItr = theList.zeroth( );
int i;

printList( theList );
for( i = 0; i < 10; i++ )
{ theList.insert( i, theItr );
printList( theList );
theItr.advance( );
}
for( i = 0; i < 10; i += 2 )
theList.remove( i );

for( i = 0; i < 10; i++ )

if((i % 2 == 0)!=(theList.find(i).isValid()))
cout << "Find fails!" << endl;

cout << "Finished deletions" << endl;

printList( theList );

List<int> list2;
list2 = theList;
printList( list2 );
return 0;
} CENG 213 Data Structures 34
Comparing Array-Based and Pointer-
Based Implementations
• Size
– Increasing the size of a resizable array can waste
storage and time
• Storage requirements
– Array-based implementations require less memory than
a pointer-based ones

CENG 213 Data Structures 35

Comparing Array-Based and Pointer-
Based Implementations
• Access time
– Array-based: constant access time
– Pointer-based: the time to access the ith node depends
on i
• Insertion and deletions
– Array-based: require shifting of data
– Pointer-based: require a list traversal

CENG 213 Data Structures 36

Saving and Restoring a Linked List by
Using a File
• Use an external file to preserve the list
• Do not write pointers to a file, only data
• Recreate the list from the file by placing each item at
the end of the list
– Use a tail pointer to facilitate adding nodes to the end of
the list
– Treat the first insertion as a special case by setting the tail
to head

CENG 213 Data Structures 37

 Passing a Linked List to a Function
• A function with access to a linked list’s head
pointer has access to the entire list
• Pass the head pointer to a function as a reference
argument

CENG 213 Data Structures 38

 Circular Linked Lists
• Last node references the first node
• Every node has a successor
• No node in a circular linked list contains NULL

A circular linked list

CENG 213 Data Structures 39

 Circular Doubly Linked Lists
• Circular doubly linked list
– prev pointer of the dummy head node points to the
last node
– next reference of the last node points to the dummy
head node
– No special cases for insertions and deletions

CENG 213 Data Structures 40

Circular Doubly Linked Lists

(a) A circular doubly linked list with a dummy head node

(b) An empty list with a dummy head node
CENG 213 Data Structures 41
 Processing Linked Lists Recursively
• Recursive strategy to display a list
– Write the first node of the list
– Write the list minus its first node
• Recursive strategies to display a list backward
– writeListBackward strategy
• Write the last node of the list
• Write the list minus its last node backward

CENG 213 Data Structures 42

 Processing Linked Lists Recursively

– writeListBackward2 strategy
• Write the list minus its first node backward
• Write the first node of the list
• Recursive view of a sorted linked list
– The linked list to which head points is a sorted list if
• head is NULL or
• head->next is NULL or
• head->item < head->next->item, and
head->next points to a sorted linked list

CENG 213 Data Structures 43