Lecture 138:- LL Class - 4

Certainly, let's continue exploring Linked Lists and cover more advanced topics and techniques.

1. Doubly Linked List: A doubly linked list is an extension of a singly linked list where each node contains pointers to both the next and the previous nodes. This allows for bidirectional traversal and easier insertion and deletion of nodes.

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class Node { public: int data; Node* next; Node* prev; Node(int value) : data(value), next(nullptr), prev(nullptr) {} };

2. Circular Linked List: A circular linked list is a type of linked list where the last node points back to the first node, creating a loop. Circular linked lists are used in scenarios where continuous looping is desired, such as in round-robin scheduling.

cppCopy code

class Node { public: int data; Node* next; Node(int value) : data(value), next(nullptr) {} };

3. Skip List: A skip list is a data structure that allows for fast search, insertion, and deletion operations. It consists of multiple linked lists with nodes that "skip" a certain number of nodes in each list. Skip lists are used to balance the advantages of arrays and linked lists, providing logarithmic time complexity for search operations.

4. Linked List vs. Array: Linked lists and arrays have different characteristics. Arrays offer constant-time random access, but linked lists offer efficient insertions and deletions. Understanding the trade-offs between these two data structures is crucial for choosing the appropriate one for your application.

5. Applications: Linked lists are used in various applications, including:

• Implementing stacks and queues.
• Symbol tables in compilers.
• Memory management in operating systems.
• Music and video playlists.
• Implementing hash tables.
• Dynamic memory allocation.

6. Tail Pointer Optimization: In singly linked lists, maintaining a tail pointer can significantly speed up insertions at the end of the list. This avoids traversing the entire list to reach the last node.

7. Self-adjusting Lists: Self-adjusting lists reorder elements based on their frequency of access. Frequently accessed elements are moved to the front of the list to reduce search times.

8. XOR Linked List: An XOR linked list is a memory-efficient doubly linked list where each node stores the XOR of the addresses of its previous and next nodes. This allows bidirectional traversal without using separate 'prev' and 'next' pointers.

These are some additional advanced topics related to linked lists. Mastering these concepts will provide you with a deeper understanding of data structures and algorithms, which are essential skills for becoming a proficient programmer.