Introduction to Linked List

Introduction to Linked List, its types and different operations performed on it.

A linked list is a sequence of data structures, which are connected together via links. Linked List is a sequence of links which contains items. Each link contains a connection to another link. The linked list is the second most-used data structure after the array.

Following are the important terms to understand the concept of Linked List.

• Link − each link of a linked list can store a data called an element.

• Next − each link of a linked list contains a link to the next link called Next.

• Linked List − A Linked List contains the connection link to the first link called First.

The linked list can be visualized as a chain of nodes, where every node points to the next node.

• Linked List contains a link element called first.

• Each link carries a data field(s) and a link field called next.

• Each link is linked with its next link using its next link.

• The last link carries a link as null to mark the end of the list.

Types of Linked List

Following are the various types of linked list.

• Simple Linked List − Item navigation is forward only.

• Doubly Linked List − Items can be navigated forward and backward.

• Circular Linked List − Last item contains link of the first element as next and the first element has a link to the last element as previous.

Basic Operations

Following are the basic operations supported by a list.

• Insertion − Adds an element at the beginning of the list.

• Deletion − Deletes an element at the beginning of the list.

• Display − Displays the complete list.

• Search − Searches an element using the given key.

• Delete − Deletes an element using the given key.