Singly Linked List

Singly linked list is a data structure, used to store data non-contiguously.

In a Singly linked list, data is stored into the non-contiguous nodes. Each node contains a reference pointer to the next node holding address of next node. Last node contains a null pointer in the next address field. It is a way of saying that "I am the last node".

The main advantages of singly linked list are:

1) Singly linked list can store data in non-contiguous locations. Thus there is no need of compaction of memory, when some large related data is to be stored into the memory.
2) Insertion and deletion of values is easier as compared to array, as no shifting of values is involved.

Apart from these advantages, there are some disadvantages also. These are:

1) Nodes can only be accessed sequentially. That means, we cannot jump to a particular node directly.
2) Because of the above disadvantage, binary search algorithm cannot be implemented on the Singly linked list.
3) There is no way to go back from one node to previous one. Only forward traversal is possible.

Download lnklist1.cpp (5.59 KB) to see the full source code of C language program demonstrating various operations on Singly linked lists.