In C programming, a list is a data structure that consists of a collection of elements, where each element points to the next element in the list. Lists can be used to store and organize data in a flexible and dynamic way.
There are two main types of lists in C:
- Singly-linked lists
- A singly linked list is a list where each element (also called a node) contains a data field and a pointer to the next element in the list.
- Doubly linked lists.
- A doubly linked list is similar to a singly linked list, but each element also contains a pointer to the previous element in the list.
Here is an example of a singly linked list node in C:
|
struct node
{ int data; struct node*
next; }; |
To create a new node, you would use the following code:
|
struct node* new_node = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); |
To insert a new node at the beginning of the list:
|
new_node->data = 10; new_node->next
= head; head
= new_node; |
To traverse a list, you would use a loop:
|
struct node* current = head;
while (current != NULL) { printf("%d
", current->data); current = current->next;
} |
To delete a node from the list:
|
if (current
== head) { head = current->next; } else { prev->next =
current->next; } |
It's important to note that, in C, lists are implemented using pointers, and the programmer is responsible for allocating and deallocating memory for the list elements. This can make working with lists in C more complex than in other languages that have built-in support for data structures like lists. Also, C does not have any built-in functions for manipulating lists like inserting, deleting, or searching for elements. So, the programmer must implement these operations manually.
Additionally, it's important to note that linked lists, unlike arrays, can grow or shrink during the execution of the program. And they are particularly useful when the amount of data is not known in advance, or when the data needs to be inserted or deleted frequently.
