Circular Linked List in c++

 

Circular linked lists are a type of linked list where the last node points to the first node, creating a loop. This structure is useful in certain situations where a traditional linear linked list is not efficient or practical. In this article, we will discuss the concept of circular linked lists and how to implement them in C++.

A circular linked list is similar to a traditional linked list, but with one key difference. In a traditional linked list, the last node points to null, indicating the end of the list. In a circular linked list, the last node points back to the first node, creating a loop. This means that the first node can be accessed from any node in the list.

One of the main advantages of a circular linked list is that it can be used in situations where a traditional linear linked list would be impractical. For example, in a game or simulation where the list represents a looping animation or movement, a circular linked list would be more efficient than a linear linked list.

Another advantage of a circular linked list is that it can be used in situations where a traditional linear linked list would be inefficient. For example, in a situation where a list needs to be repeatedly traversed, a circular linked list would be more efficient than a linear linked list, as it would not require the traversal to start from the beginning each time.

In C++, a circular linked list can be implemented using a class, with each node containing a data element and a pointer to the next node. The class would also have a pointer to the last node, which would be used to link the last node to the first node.

Here is an example of how to implement a circular linked list in C++:

class Node {
 public:
 int data;
 Node* next;
 }; 
 class CircularLinkedList { 
private:
 Node* last; 
 public:
 CircularLinkedList() {
 last = NULL;
 } 
 void insertNode(int data) {
 Node* temp = new Node;
 temp->data = data;
 temp->next = last->next;
 last->next = temp;
 last = temp;
 }
 void deleteNode(int data) {
 Node* temp = last->next;
 Node* prev = last;
 if (temp != NULL && temp->data == data) {
 last->next = temp->next;
 delete temp; 
 return;
        } 
 while (temp != NULL && temp->data != data) {
 prev = temp; 
 temp = temp->next;
 }
 if (temp == NULL) {
 return; 
 }
 prev->next = temp->next;
 delete temp; 
 }
 void printList() {
 Node* temp = last->next;
 while (temp != last) {
 cout << temp->data << " "; 
 temp = temp->next;
 }
        cout << temp->data << endl;
 }
};

In this example, we have created a class called Node, which contains two members: data and next. The data member is used to store the data element of the node, and the next member is used to store the pointer to the next node.

We have also created a class called CircularLinkedList, which contains a private member called last. The last member is used to store the pointer to the last node of the list.