A
linked listis adata structurethat consists of a sequence ofnodes, where each node contains a value and areferenceto the next node in the list. The first node is called theheadand the last node is called thetail
Linked lists and arrays are both data structures used to store and organize data, but they have distinct differences.
- Arrays are a collection of elements of the same data type stored in contiguous memory locations with a fixed size, providing constant time access using index but with time-consuming insertion and deletion operations.
- On the other hand,
linked listsaredynamic, withnodescontaining values andreferencesto the next node, allowing efficient insertion and deletion operations but with slower access to specific elements. - In summary,
arraysare better for situations where indexed access and fixed size are important, whilelinked listsare better for situations where dynamic size and efficient insertion and deletion are important.`