Insertion in a linked list having head as null - java

I have node class as
class Node{
int data;
Node next;
}
I have to insert nodes to the list.
It works properly. But always the head value is zero.
public void createlist(Node n,int p)
{
Node newone = new Node();
newone.data=p;
newone.next=null;
if(n==null)
n=newone;
else
{
while(temp.next!=null)
temp=temp.next;
temp.next=newone;
}
}
In main function I have created head node as
public static void main(String args[] ) {
Scanner s = new Scanner(System.in);
Node head=new Node();
createlist(head,5);
}
after creating this implementation the list starting from head looks like
0->5. Why did the 0 come?.

Zero comes from the head node itself:
Node head=new Node();
It is never modified by createList method, so the default value of zero remains in the data field.
It boils down to inability to change head inside main by assigning n in the code below:
if(n==null)
n=newone;
That is why you are forced to create new Node inside main, so in fact n is
never null.
You can fix this problem in several ways:
Treat the head node in a special way - ignore the head node in for printing, deletions, etc., or
Change methods that operate on Node objects to return the modified list - this would let you insert new nodes or delete the head node, or
Introduce a MyList class that owns all nodes - move all list operations on the "umbrella" class, and deal with the head node there.

Related

Pointers in LinkedList in Java

I am studying the linked lists,and I'm having a little problem understanding references and pointers in Java (and also have some questions for which I can't find answer on the internet.) Namely,I have a class LinkedList that uses class Node like this:
public class LinkedList {
public Node head;
public LinkedList(int data) {
head = new Node(data);
}
}
and this is my Node class:
public class Node {
public int data;
public Node next;
public Node(int data2) {
data = data2;
}
}
I also have method toStringLL() inside LinkedList which looks like:
public void toStringLL() {
LinkedList l=this;
while(l.head.next != null) {
System.out.print(l.head.data+"->");
l.head = l.head.next;
}
System.out.print(l.head.data);
System.out.println("");
}
I don't understand why this toStringLL() changes my head of linked list,when I am iterating through it with l.head=l.head.next? Shouldn't my head stay the same?I thought that when I write LinkedList l=this,I can freely iterate through l,without affecting this(or am I wrong?) Now when I use Node n=this.head instead of LinkedList l=this,it works,but I have difficulty figuring out why that works and the previous doesn't.. Can someone explain to me the difference between these two?
I don't understand why this toStringLL() changes my head of linked list,when I am iterating through it with l.head=l.head.next?Shouldn't my head stay the same?
When you make the assignment
LinkedList l = this;
you are not creating a new LinkedList object. You are just defining a references to the existing LinkedList object.
Therefore, l.head = l.head.next does exactly the same as this.head = this.head.next. Both change your original list.
On the other hand, when you write
Node n = this.head
you are not changing the head of your List. You are declaring a variable that initially refers to the head of your List, but when you change that variable to refer to other Nodes of your list, the head variable of your list (this.head) remains unchanged.
When you set
l.head=l.head.next;
you change your head.

"Circular" object argument in Java

Say I am given a linked list (Java) with definition,
public class ListNode {
int val;
ListNode next;
ListNode(int x) { val = x; }
}
I am given an instance of the linked list:
1->2->3->4
In this function below I am given access to the node with value 3 Ie. 3
public void remove (ListNode node){
node = node.next;
}
Does the linked list become 1->2->4?
I tried submitting this solution to an online judge and it didn't do anything. Help?
Java parameters are passed by value.
When you call remove, a copy of the reference to node is passed in. Your code attempts to change this reference locally by setting node = node.next(), but this won't affect the original list.
What the remove method needs to do is locate the node in the list that has a next that refers to the node you want to remove, and change that to point to the node after the node you want to remove. Assuming there's a method to find the parent of a given node called findParentOf():
ListNode parentNode = findParentOf(nodeToRemove);
parentNode.next = nodeToRemove.next;
public void remove (ListNode node){
node = node.next;
}
This will only affect the local reference you are currently holding. To remove a node, you have to manipulate the next variable of its predecessor, which is not available, as it is a single-linked list.
All you can theoretically do is:
public void removeNext (ListNode node) {
node.next = node.next.next;
}
When calling this method on your sample list you'll have to use the node with value 2, respectively.
public void remove (ListNode node){
node = node.next;
}
it doesn't do anything because when local reference variable node is set to node.next, it goes from pointing to the node with val of 3 to to the node with val of 4.
||
\/
1->2->3->4
becomes
||
\/
1->2->3->4

How can I remove a specified node from a linked list?

I've made a remove method that removes an object from a singly linked list.
So far the method removes the first node and the second node without a problem. When removing the third node and onward the method removes everything between the specified node and the head node. My question is how can I make my method remove the specified node and not everything before it?
I know I need to keep a reference to the previous node in order to assign its next node to the specified nodes next node. This will close the gap and remove the node. I understand the logic but can't seem to implement it.
public class List_test{
public Node head;
public List(){
head = null;
}
public List(Node head_) {
this.head = head_;
Node ref = head;
}
public void remove(Node node) {
Node ref= head;
if (ref.equals(node)) {
head = head.next;
return;
}
while (ref != null) {
if (ref.equals(node)) {
head.next = node.next;
}
ref = ref.next;
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new List_test();
}
For removing a node, why are you changing the head pointer? You should be using the previous node and point it to the next node of the node to be removed.
I think this page have nice explanation for this topic:
deleting node in linked list c/c++, java, python

Inserting a new Node at the beginning of a LinkeList in Java

I have checked few posts that we have in SO.
Insert new node at the beginning of Linked-List
How do I insert a node at the beginning of a linked list?
And implemented a simple LinkedList in java that works just fine.
What I can't get my head around is how adding a new Node to the beginning of the LinkedList would actually work.
Here is how my code snippet for adding a Node to the beginning of the LinkedList looks like:
public class SinglyLinkedList
{
//Private variable to keep tab of the HEAD of the linked list.
private ListNode head;
//Private variable to keep track of the node count in this singly linked list.
private int length;
.
.
.
/**
* Insert a ListNode at the beginning of this List.
*/
public synchronized void insertAtBegin(ListNode newNode)
{
//Set current head as the next of input ListNode
newNode.setNext(head);
//Set the input ListNode as the new head of this SinglyLinkedList
head = newNode;
//Increment the SinglyLinkedList length
length++;
}
.
.
.
}//End of class SinglyLinkedList
The ListNode class represents a Single Node like so:
/**
* Represents a Node of the Linked List.
*/
public class ListNode
{
private ListNode next;
private int data;
/**
* Constructors
*/
public ListNode()
{
next = null;
data = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
}
public ListNode(int data)
{
next = null;
this.data = data;
}
/**
* Accessor methods.
*/
public int getData()
{
return this.data;
}
public void setData(int data)
{
this.data = data;
}
public ListNode getNext()
{
return next;
}
public void setNext(ListNode listNode)
{
this.next = listNode;
}
public String toString()
{
return Integer.toString(data);
}
}//End of class ListNode
The 2 lines that really confuse me are:
//Set current head as the next of input ListNode
newNode.setNext(head);
//Set the input ListNode as the new head of this SinglyLinkedList
head = newNode;
The more I try to analyze these two lines, I feel it will create a circular reference structure instead of pushing in the "newNode" in place of "head".
May be I don't quite understand how Java references are passed around.
Is there an explanation as to why the above two lines won't end up in a circular reference?
It seems you understand conceptually how the LinkedList gets a new head node. Your question is more related to Java itself.
Remember that Java is pass-by-value; When you are passing objects around, you aren't passing the value of the object - you are passing the value of the pointer to that object. Is Java "pass-by-reference" or "pass-by-value"?
So with that in mind, let me break down those 2 lines.
newNode.setNext(head)
The value in head is a pointer to a node. So the setNext function is receiving, in accordance to pass-by-value, a pointer to a node. It is NOT receiving a pointer to head.
head = newNode;
in this line, we reassign head's VALUE to be a POINTER to the newly created node. The value in newNode.next is still a pointer to the previous head.
You are encountering a very common confusion with Java, and believe me it is VERY VERY common (hence the 2k upvotes on the SO I referenced above). I hope this addresses your main source of confusion!
Imagine you have the following LinkedList:
2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5
and you want to insert a node with a value of 1 at the beginning. Let's call this node newNode.
Now look at this line: newNode.setNext(head); You are making newNode's next value point to head, which in this case is pointing to the node with a value of 2. This is what your list looks like now:
1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5
However, head is still pointing to the node with the value of 2, so you have to fix that by making head point to the node with a value of 1, which is newNode. That is what the line head = newNode; does.
When your list is moving from right to left, i.e. 1 then after new node insertion it becomes 2->1 then after fresh insertion it becomes 3->2->1, In this case you need to take care of two things only : head (the first element of the list) & temporary node which is to be inserted next. Here is the pseudo code for that:
` while(you_want_to_insert_new_node) //temporary is the node to be inserted freshly
{
Insert(temporary->data); //Insert data in temporary node
temporary->next=head;
head=temporary;
}
`
When your list is moving from left to right, i.e 1->2 then it becomes 1->2->3 and so on, you need to take care of 3 things: head, the current node and the temporary. Here is the pseudo code for that:
`
current=head;
while(you_want_to_insert_new_node) //temporary is the node to be inserted freshly
{
Insert(temporary->data); //Insert data in temporary node
current->next = temporary;
current=temporary;
}

Head node of Linked List

So I was wondering how I could create a new empty linked list, using my class definition of List and node, with a first head node pointing to null without having to hold any integer value. The thing is I'm not allowed to change the given methods or add any to the definition, so whenever I create a list, in the constructor I'm not sure how I'm supposed to asign head to null. Here's part of the codes:
public class Node {
private Node next;
private int key;
Node(Node nxt, int keyValue) {
key = keyValue;
next = nxt;
}
Node getNext() {
return next;
}
int getKey() {
return key;
}
void putNext(Node nxt) {
next = nxt;
}
}
Class List
public class List {
private Node head;
List() {
head = new Node(null, -1); // arbitary value for head
head.putNext(null);
}
This is what I came up with. I just assign a random value to variable key in head node. But if I do this, it will kinda mess up with my later methods that used recursive like deletion or finding sum or find max, min, etc
Is there any other way around I can do to deal with this issue?
In an Empty Linked List Head is Just a pointer which points to Nothing. You dont need to worry about creating an object to which current head points. Just create a head pointer and assign it to NULL. When you are actually adding a Node assign the address of first node to Head. Thats it...
public class List {
private Node *head;
List() {
head = NULL;
}
}

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