Linked List Concepts Tutorial

In this tutorial, we'll walk through the fundamental concepts of working with linked lists in C++.
We'll cover node creation, node insertion, node deletion, node viewing, and node traversal, with
clear examples to help you understand and implement these concepts.

1. Node Creation

Concept:

 A node in a linked list is a basic unit that contains data and a pointer to the next node in
the list.
 Each node holds two pieces of information: the actual data and a pointer to the next node.

Implementation:

 We'll define a Node structure that contains an int for storing data and a pointer to the
next node.

Code:

cpp
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#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

struct Node {
int value; // Stores the data
Node* pointer; // Pointer to the next node
};

Explanation:

 The Node structure defines what each node in the linked list will look like.
 value stores the data, and pointer points to the next node in the list. Initially, this
pointer will be NULL.

2. Node Insertion

Concept:

 Inserting a node means adding a new node to the linked list. Nodes can be inserted at the
beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the list.
Implementation:

 We'll focus on inserting a node at the end of the list.

 The steps include creating a new node, traversing to the last node, and linking the new
node to the end.

Code:

cpp
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Node* startpointer = NULL; // Start of the list

void insert(int newValue) {

Node* newNode = new Node; // Create a new node
newNode->value = newValue; // Assign the value
newNode->pointer = NULL; // Set the next pointer to NULL

if (startpointer == NULL) {
startpointer = newNode; // If list is empty, new node becomes the
start node
} else {
Node* currentnode = startpointer;
while (currentnode->pointer != NULL) {
currentnode = currentnode->pointer; // Traverse to the last node
}
currentnode->pointer = newNode; // Link the new node to the last node
}
}

Explanation:

 We first check if the list is empty (startpointer == NULL). If it is, the new node
becomes the start of the list.
 If the list is not empty, we traverse the list until we find the last node (where pointer is
NULL) and link the new node to it.

3. Node Deletion

Concept:

 Deleting a node involves removing it from the linked list and updating the pointers to
maintain the structure of the list.
 We must carefully handle the pointers to avoid breaking the list.

Implementation:

 We'll delete a node by value. This involves finding the node, updating the pointer of the
previous node, and freeing the memory.
Code:

cpp
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void deleteNode(int valueToDelete) {
if (startpointer == NULL) return; // If list is empty, do nothing

if (startpointer->value == valueToDelete) {
Node* temp = startpointer;
startpointer = startpointer->pointer; // Move start to the next node
delete temp; // Free the memory of the old start node
return;
}

Node* currentnode = startpointer;

while (currentnode->pointer != NULL && currentnode->pointer->value !=
valueToDelete) {
currentnode = currentnode->pointer; // Traverse to find the node to
delete
}

if (currentnode->pointer != NULL) {
Node* temp = currentnode->pointer;
currentnode->pointer = currentnode->pointer->pointer; // Bypass the
node to delete
delete temp; // Free the memory of the deleted node
}
}

Explanation:

 If the node to delete is the first node, we adjust the startpointer to point to the next
node.
 If the node to delete is in the middle or end, we update the previous node's pointer to skip
the node to be deleted.
 Finally, we free the memory allocated to the deleted node.

4. Node View

Concept:

 Viewing nodes means printing out the data stored in each node of the linked list.
 This allows us to check the current state of the list.

Implementation:

 We traverse the list from the start node and print the value of each node.

Code:
cpp
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void view() {
Node* current = startpointer;
while (current != NULL) {
cout << "Node data: " << current->value << endl; // Print the data
current = current->pointer; // Move to the next node
}
}

Explanation:

 Starting from the startpointer, we print each node's value.

 We continue traversing until we reach the end of the list (where the pointer is NULL).

5. Node Traversal

Concept:

 Traversal involves visiting each node in the linked list, usually to perform some operation
like viewing, updating, or deleting nodes.

Implementation:

 Traversal is typically done using a loop that moves from one node to the next using the
pointers.

Code:

cpp
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void traverseAndUpdate(int addValue) {
Node* current = startpointer;
while (current != NULL) {
current->value += addValue; // Example operation: adding a value to
each node
current = current->pointer; // Move to the next node
}
}

Explanation:

 The traversal process is similar to viewing, but instead of just printing, you can perform
any operation on each node.
 In this example, we add a given value to each node's data as we traverse the list.
Conclusion

By following this tutorial, you should now understand the key operations on a linked list in C++:

 Node Creation: Defining the structure of a node.

 Node Insertion: Adding new nodes to the linked list.
 Node Deletion: Removing nodes from the linked list.
 Node View: Printing the contents of the list.
 Node Traversal: Visiting each node to perform an operation.

These concepts form the foundation for working with linked lists, and with practice, you can
extend them to more complex operations.