Singly Linked List in Data Structure

What is a Singly Linked List?

A singly linked list is a type of linear data structure where each entry is connected to the next simply using a pointer and is not kept in a continuous memory location. It consists of an ordered set of items.

Uses of Singly Linked List

• Image Viewer: The next and previous buttons provide access to the previous and next images.
• Music Player: The songs in the music player are related to the songs before and after them. You can play songs from the beginning or finish of the list.
• Non-contiguous Memory: Linked lists do not require contiguous memory, which improves space utilization.
• Dynamic Size: Linked lists can expand dynamically, restricted solely by available memory.
• No Empty Nodes: Linked lists do not allow empty nodes, resulting in efficient memory consumption.
• Storage Flexibility: Single-linked lists can hold primitive types or objects.

One-Way Chain or Singly Linked List

A singly linked list is used to store an ordered set of elements of variable size. Each node stores data and a pointer to the next node, allowing for one-way traversal.

Singly Linked List Operations

• Insertion: Insertion is the process of adding a new node to the list's beginning, middle, or end by modifying pointers.
• Deletion: Removing a node from the list by updating pointers to ensure continuity.
• Traversal: Traversal is the process of iterating across a list to access or modify the contents at each node.
• Search: Finding a specific element by traversing the list until the desired data is discovered.
• Update: Changing the data stored in a specific node without affecting its position in the list.

Advantages of Singly Linked List Operations

• Efficient Insertions and Deletions: Inserting or removing elements at the start of the list is quick because it simply involves pointer changes.
• Dynamic Size: Singly linked lists can expand or contract dynamically, adjusting to the program's requirements without pre-allocation.
• Simple Implementation: When compared to other data structures, implementing a singly linked list is rather simple.

Disadvantages of Singly Linked List Operations

• No random access: Accessing entries by index is inefficient because it requires traversing the list from the beginning.
• Memory Overhead: Pointers require more memory to store, which increases memory consumption as compared to arrays.
• Limited Traversal: Traversing the list in reverse is inefficient since it necessitates keeping additional pointers or reversing the list.
• Cache inefficiency: Linked lists may cause additional cache misses owing to non-contiguous memory usage.