Linked List in Python | Full tutorial video including all concepts
A linked list is a linear data structure where each element is a separate object. Each element (we will call it a node) of a list is comprising of two items - the data and a reference to the next node. The last node has a reference to null. The entry point into a linked list is called the head of the list.
In computer science, a Linked list is a linear collection of data elements, whose order is not given by their physical placement in memory. Instead, each element points to the next. It is a data structure consisting of a collection of nodes which together represent a sequence.
Each element (we will call it a node) of a list is comprising of two items - the data and a reference to the next node. The last node has a reference to null. The entry point into a linked list is called the head of the list. It should be noted that head is not a separate node, but the reference to the first node. If the list is empty then the head is a null reference.
A linked list is a dynamic data structure. The number of nodes in a list is not fixed and can grow and shrink on demand. Any application which has to deal with an unknown number of objects will need to use a linked list.
One disadvantage of a linked list against an array is that it does not allow direct access to the individual elements. If you want to access a particular item then you have to start at the head and follow the references until you get to that item.
Another disadvantage is that a linked list uses more memory compare with an array to store a reference to the next node.
In Python, list is a type of container in Data Structures, which is used to store multiple data at the same time. Unlike Sets, the list in Python are ordered and have a definite count. The elements in a list are indexed according to a definite sequence and the indexing of a list is done with 0 being the first index.