Introduction to Linked Lists
Explore linked lists in C#, including their node-based structure, types like singly and doubly linked lists, and how they differ from arrays. Understand how linked lists enable flexible memory management and efficient insertions and deletions without shifting elements. This lesson helps you grasp linked list basics and prepares you for implementing and manipulating these dynamic data structures.
At this stage, arrays are an established data structure. An array stores elements in contiguous memory locations, enabling constant-time index-based access. To access the fifth element, the system computes its memory address and retrieves it directly, without accessing preceding elements.
This speed of access comes with a constraint: all elements must occupy a single, unbroken block of memory, laid out side by side. That constraint is what gives arrays their strength in access, and also what creates their most significant limitations.
Limitations of arrays
When an array needs to change its structure, the contiguous memory requirement becomes a burden.
Inserting an element in the middle of an array means every element after the insertion point must be shifted one position forward to make room. Deleting an element from the middle means every element after it must be shifted back. For large arrays, these shifts are expensive.
When a dynamic array runs out of allocated space, and a new element needs to be added, the entire array must be moved. A new, larger block of contiguous memory is allocated, all existing elements are copied into it, and the old block is released. This is an
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