Programming Concepts
Beginner
What is Linked List?
A linear data structure where elements are stored in nodes, each containing data and a pointer to the next node in the sequence.
Linked lists provide O(1) insertion and deletion at known positions (no shifting needed), but O(n) access by index (must traverse from head). Types include singly linked (forward pointers), doubly linked (forward and backward), and circular.
Use cases include implementing stacks, queues, and hash table collision chains. In practice, arrays/vectors are often faster due to cache locality. Linked lists are fundamental to understanding pointers, memory allocation, and data structure design.
