Worksheet 9: Linked List Introduction List Stack Name:
An Active Learning Approach to Data Structures using C
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Worksheet 9: Linked List Introduction, List Stack
The Vector is not the only way to organize a collection. A weakness of the
Vector is that elements are stored in a contiguous block. As a consequence,
when a new element is inserted into the collection, all the adjacent elements
must be moved in order to make space for the new value.
An alternative approach is to use the idea of a
Linked List
. In a linked list each value is stored in a
separate block of memory, termed a
link
. In addition
to a value, each link contains a reference to the next
link in sequence. As a data structure, a link can be
described as shown at right.
We can visualize collection formed out of links as follows. A data field named
firstLink will hold the first link in the collection. Each link refers to the next. The
final link will have a null value in the next field:
The simplest data structure to create using links is a Stack. When a new element
is pushed on the stack a new link will be created and placed at the front of the
chain.
To remove a link the variable firstLink is simply changed to point to the next
element in the chain. The space for the Link is then freed.
struct link {
EleType value;
struct link * next;
};
