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Recursion for Coding Interviews in Java

Solution Review: Search for a Value in a Linked List

Explore how recursion can be applied to search for a specific value in a linked list. Understand the base case when the list ends, and the recursive case that checks each node's value. This lesson helps you grasp recursive calls, stack behavior, and linked list traversal—all essential for coding interviews.

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Solution: Search for a Value in a Linked List

Java
class Solution {
    public static boolean search(Node head, int num) { 
      // Base case
      if (head == null) {
        return false;
      }
      // Recursive case
      else {
        if (head.value == num) {
          return true;
        }
        else {
          return search(head.next, num);
        }
      }
    } 
    public static void main( String args[] ) {
        /* Start with the empty list */
        LinkedList list = new LinkedList(); 
        list.insertAtHead(0); 
        list.insertAtHead(3); 
        list.insertAtHead(1); 
        list.insertAtHead(6); 
        list.insertAtHead(4); 
        System.out.println("Linked List: ");
        for (Node i = list.head; i != null; i = i.next) {
          System.out.print(i.value + " ");
        }
        System.out.println(" ");
        int searchFor = 8;
        boolean result = search(list.head, searchFor);
        System.out.println("Is " + searchFor + " present in the list? : " + result);    
    }
}

Understanding the Code

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