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What is Circular Linked List?
Circular Linked List is a variation of Linked list in which the first element points to the last element and the last element points to the first element. Both Singly Linked List and Doubly Linked List can be made into a circular linked list.
Singly Linked List as Circular
In singly linked list, the next pointer of the last node points to the first node.
Doubly Linked List as Circular
In doubly linked list, the next pointer of the last node points to the first node and the previous pointer of the first node points to the last node making the circular in both directions.
As per the above illustration, following are the important points to be considered.
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The last link”s next points to the first link of the list in both cases of singly as well as doubly linked list.
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The first link”s previous points to the last of the list in case of doubly linked list.
Basic Operations in Circular Linked List
Following are the important operations supported by a circular list.
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insert − Inserts an element at the start of the list.
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delete − Deletes an element from the start of the list.
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display − Displays the list.
Circular Linked List – Insertion Operation
The insertion operation of a circular linked list only inserts the element at the start of the list. This differs from the usual singly and doubly linked lists as there is no particular starting and ending points in this list. The insertion is done either at the start or after a particular node (or a given position) in the list.
Algorithm
1. START 2. Check if the list is empty 3. If the list is empty, add the node and point the head to this node 4. If the list is not empty, link the existing head as the next node to the new node. 5. Make the new node as the new head. 6. END
Example
Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming languages −
#include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <stdbool.h> struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; printf("n[ "); //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { printf("(%d,%d) ",ptr->key,ptr->data); ptr = ptr->next; } } printf(" ]"); } void main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); printf("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); }
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
#include <iostream> #include <cstring> #include <cstdlib> #include <cstdbool> struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; printf("n[ "); //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { printf("(%d,%d) ",ptr->key,ptr->data); ptr = ptr->next; } } printf(" ]"); } int main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); printf("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); return 0; }
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
//Java program for circular link list import java.util.*; class Node { int data; int key; Node next; } public class Main { static Node head = null; static Node current = null; static boolean isEmpty() { return head == null; } //insert link at the first location static void insertFirst(int key, int data) { //create a link Node link = new Node(); link.key = key; link.data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head.next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link.next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //display the list static void printList() { Node ptr = head; System.out.print("n[ "); //start from the beginning if (head != null) { while (ptr.next != ptr) { System.out.print("(" + ptr.key + "," + ptr.data + ") "); ptr = ptr.next; } } System.out.print(" ]"); } public static void main(String[] args) { insertFirst(1, 10); insertFirst(2, 20); insertFirst(3, 30); insertFirst(4, 1); insertFirst(5, 40); insertFirst(6, 56); System.out.print("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); } }
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
#python program for circular linked list class Node: def __init__(self, key, data): self.key = key self.data = data self.next = None head = None current = None def is_empty(): return head is None #insert link at the first location def insert_first(key, data): #create a link global head new_node = Node(key, data) if is_empty(): head = new_node head.next = head else: #point it to old first node new_node.next = head #point first to the new first node head = new_node #display the list def print_list(): global head ptr = head print("[", end=" ") #start from the beginning if head is not None: while ptr.next != ptr: print("({}, {})".format(ptr.key, ptr.data), end=" ") ptr = ptr.next print("]") insert_first(1, 10) insert_first(2, 20) insert_first(3, 30) insert_first(4, 1) insert_first(5, 40) insert_first(6, 56) #printlist print("Circular Linked List: ") print_list()
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
Circular Linked List – Deletion Operation
The Deletion operation in a Circular linked list removes a certain node from the list. The deletion operation in this type of lists can be done at the beginning, or a given position, or at the ending.
Algorithm
1. START 2. If the list is empty, then the program is returned. 3. If the list is not empty, we traverse the list using a current pointer that is set to the head pointer and create another pointer previous that points to the last node. 4. Suppose the list has only one node, the node is deleted by setting the head pointer to NULL. 5. If the list has more than one node and the first node is to be deleted, the head is set to the next node and the previous is linked to the new head. 6. If the node to be deleted is the last node, link the preceding node of the last node to head node. 7. If the node is neither first nor last, remove the node by linking its preceding node to its succeeding node. 8. END
Example
Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming languages −
#include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <stdbool.h> struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //delete first item struct node * deleteFirst(){ //save reference to first link struct node *tempLink = head; if(head->next == head) { head = NULL; return tempLink; } //mark next to first link as first head = head->next; //return the deleted link return tempLink; } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { printf("(%d,%d) ",ptr->key,ptr->data); ptr = ptr->next; } } } void main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); printf("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); deleteFirst(); printf("nList after deleting the first item: "); printList(); }
Output
Circular Linked List: (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) List after deleting the first item: (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20)
#include <iostream> #include <cstring> #include <cstdlib> #include <cstdbool> struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //delete first item struct node * deleteFirst(){ //save reference to first link struct node *tempLink = head; if(head->next == head) { head = NULL; return tempLink; } //mark next to first link as first head = head->next; //return the deleted link return tempLink; } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { printf("(%d,%d) ",ptr->key,ptr->data); ptr = ptr->next; } } } int main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); printf("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); deleteFirst(); printf("nList after deleting the first item: "); printList(); return 0; }
Output
Circular Linked List: (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) List after deleting the first item: (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20)
//Java program for circular linked list import java.util.*; public class Main { static class Node { int data; int key; Node next; } static Node head = null; static Node current = null; static boolean isEmpty() { return head == null; } //insert link at the first location static void insertFirst(int key, int data) { //create a link Node link = new Node(); link.key = key; link.data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head.next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link.next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //delete first item static Node deleteFirst() { //save reference to first link Node tempLink = head; if (head.next == head) { head = null; return tempLink; } //mark next to first link as first head = head.next; //return the deleted link return tempLink; } //display the list static void printList() { Node ptr = head; //start from the beginning if (head != null) { while (ptr.next != ptr) { System.out.printf("(%d,%d) ", ptr.key, ptr.data); ptr = ptr.next; } } } public static void main(String[] args) { insertFirst(1, 10); insertFirst(2, 20); insertFirst(3, 30); insertFirst(4, 1); insertFirst(5, 40); insertFirst(6, 56); System.out.print("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); deleteFirst(); System.out.print("nList after deleting the first item: "); printList(); } }
Output
Circular Linked List: (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) List after deleting the first item: (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20)
#python program for circular linked list class Node: def __init__(self, key, data): self.key = key self.data = data self.next = None head = None current = None def is_empty(): return head is None #insert link at the first location def insert_first(key, data): #create a link global head new_node = Node(key, data) if is_empty(): head = new_node head.next = head else: #point it to old first node new_node.next = head #point first to the new first node head = new_node def print_list(): global head ptr = head print("[", end=" ") #start from the beginning if head is not None: while ptr.next != ptr: print("({}, {})".format(ptr.key, ptr.data), end=" ") ptr = ptr.next print("]") def delete_first(): global head temp_link = head if head.next == head: head = None return temp_link head = head.next return temp_link insert_first(1, 10) insert_first(2, 20) insert_first(3, 30) insert_first(4, 1) insert_first(5, 40) insert_first(6, 56) #printlist print("Circular Linked List: ") print_list() delete_first() print("nList after deleting the first item: ") print_list();
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6, 56) (5, 40) (4, 1) (3, 30) (2, 20) ] List after deleting the first item: [ (5, 40) (4, 1) (3, 30) (2, 20) ]
Circular Linked List – Displaying the List
The Display List operation visits every node in the list and prints them all in the output.
Algorithm
1. START 2. Walk through all the nodes of the list and print them 3. END
Example
Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming languages −
#include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <stdbool.h> struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; printf("n[ "); //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { printf("(%d,%d) ",ptr->key,ptr->data); ptr = ptr->next; } } printf(" ]"); } void main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); printf("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); }
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
#include <iostream> #include <cstring> #include <cstdlib> #include <cstdbool> struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; printf("n[ "); //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { printf("(%d,%d) ",ptr->key,ptr->data); ptr = ptr->next; } } printf(" ]"); } int main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); printf("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); return 0; }
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
//Java program for circular link list import java.util.*; class Node { int data; int key; Node next; } public class Main { static Node head = null; static Node current = null; static boolean isEmpty() { return head == null; } //insert link at the first location static void insertFirst(int key, int data) { //create a link Node link = new Node(); link.key = key; link.data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head.next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link.next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //display the list static void printList() { Node ptr = head; System.out.print("n[ "); //start from the beginning if (head != null) { while (ptr.next != ptr) { System.out.print("(" + ptr.key + "," + ptr.data + ") "); ptr = ptr.next; } } System.out.print(" ]"); } public static void main(String[] args) { insertFirst(1, 10); insertFirst(2, 20); insertFirst(3, 30); insertFirst(4, 1); insertFirst(5, 40); insertFirst(6, 56); System.out.print("Circular Linked List: "); //print list printList(); } }
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
#python program for circular linked list class Node: def __init__(self, key, data): self.key = key self.data = data self.next = None head = None current = None def is_empty(): return head is None #insert link at the first location def insert_first(key, data): #create a link global head new_node = Node(key, data) if is_empty(): head = new_node head.next = head else: #point it to old first node new_node.next = head #point first to the new first node head = new_node #display the list def print_list(): global head ptr = head print("[", end=" ") #start from the beginning if head is not None: while ptr.next != ptr: print("({}, {})".format(ptr.key, ptr.data), end=" ") ptr = ptr.next print("]") insert_first(1, 10) insert_first(2, 20) insert_first(3, 30) insert_first(4, 1) insert_first(5, 40) insert_first(6, 56) #printlist print("Circular Linked List: ") print_list()
Output
Circular Linked List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ]
Circular Linked List – Complete Implementation
Following are the complete implementations of Circular Linked List in various programming languages −
#include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <stdbool.h> struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } int length(){ int length = 0; //if list is empty if(head == NULL) { return 0; } current = head->next; while(current != head) { length++; current = current->next; } return length; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //delete first item struct node * deleteFirst(){ //save reference to first link struct node *tempLink = head; if(head->next == head) { head = NULL; return tempLink; } //mark next to first link as first head = head->next; //return the deleted link return tempLink; } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; printf("n[ "); //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { printf("(%d,%d) ",ptr->key,ptr->data); ptr = ptr->next; } } printf(" ]"); } int main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); printf("Original List: "); //print list printList(); while(!isEmpty()) { struct node *temp = deleteFirst(); printf("nDeleted value:"); printf("(%d,%d) ",temp->key,temp->data); } printf("nList after deleting all items: "); printList(); }
Output
Original List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ] Deleted value:(6,56) Deleted value:(5,40) Deleted value:(4,1) Deleted value:(3,30) Deleted value:(2,20) Deleted value:(1,10) List after deleting all items: [ ]
#include <iostream> #include <cstring> #include <cstdlib> #include <cstdbool> using namespace std; struct node { int data; int key; struct node *next; }; struct node *head = NULL; struct node *current = NULL; bool isEmpty(){ return head == NULL; } int length(){ int length = 0; //if list is empty if(head == NULL) { return 0; } current = head->next; while(current != head) { length++; current = current->next; } return length; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data){ //create a link struct node *link = (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); link->key = key; link->data = data; if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head->next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link->next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //delete first item struct node * deleteFirst(){ //save reference to first link struct node *tempLink = head; if(head->next == head) { head = NULL; return tempLink; } //mark next to first link as first head = head->next; //return the deleted link return tempLink; } //display the list void printList(){ struct node *ptr = head; cout << "n[ "; //start from the beginning if(head != NULL) { while(ptr->next != ptr) { cout << "(" << ptr->key << "," << ptr->data << ") "; ptr = ptr->next; } } cout << " ]"; } int main(){ insertFirst(1,10); insertFirst(2,20); insertFirst(3,30); insertFirst(4,1); insertFirst(5,40); insertFirst(6,56); cout << "Original List: "; //print list printList(); while(!isEmpty()) { struct node *temp = deleteFirst(); cout << "n Deleted value:"; cout << "(" << temp->key << "," << temp->data << ") "; } cout << "n List after deleting all items: "; printList(); return 0; }
Output
Original List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ] Deleted value:(6,56) Deleted value:(5,40) Deleted value:(4,1) Deleted value:(3,30) Deleted value:(2,20) Deleted value:(1,10) List after deleting all items: [ ]
class Node { int data; int key; Node next; Node(int key, int data) { this.key = key; this.data = data; this.next = null; } } public class LinkedList { private Node head; private Node current; boolean isEmpty() { return head == null; } int length() { int length = 0; //if list is empty if (head == null) { return 0; } current = head.next; while (current != head) { length++; current = current.next; } return length; } //insert link at the first location void insertFirst(int key, int data) { //create a link Node link = new Node(key, data); if (isEmpty()) { head = link; head.next = head; } else { //point it to old first node link.next = head; //point first to new first node head = link; } } //delete first item Node deleteFirst() { if (head.next == head) { //save reference to first link Node tempLink = head; head = null; return tempLink; } Node tempLink = head; //mark next to first link as first head = head.next; //return the deleted link return tempLink; } //display the list void printList() { Node ptr = head; System.out.print("n[ "); //start from the beginning if (head != null) { while (ptr.next != ptr) { System.out.print("(" + ptr.key + "," + ptr.data + ") "); ptr = ptr.next; } } System.out.print(" ]"); } public static void main(String[] args) { LinkedList linkedList = new LinkedList(); linkedList.insertFirst(1, 10); linkedList.insertFirst(2, 20); linkedList.insertFirst(3, 30); linkedList.insertFirst(4, 1); linkedList.insertFirst(5, 40); linkedList.insertFirst(6, 56); System.out.print("Original List: "); linkedList.printList(); //print list while (!linkedList.isEmpty()) { Node temp = linkedList.deleteFirst(); System.out.println("nDeleted value: (" + temp.key + "," + temp.data + ")"); } System.out.print("nList after deleting all items: "); linkedList.printList(); } }
Output
Original List: [ (6,56) (5,40) (4,1) (3,30) (2,20) ] Deleted value: (6,56) Deleted value: (5,40) Deleted value: (4,1) Deleted value: (3,30) Deleted value: (2,20) Deleted value: (1,10) List after deleting all items: [ ]
class Node: def __init__(self, key, data): self.key = key self.data = data self.next = None class LinkedList: def __init__(self): self.head = None self.current = None def is_empty(self): return self.head is None def length(self): length = 0 # If list is empty if self.head is None: return 0 self.current = self.head.next while self.current != self.head: length += 1 self.current = self.current.next return length # insert link at the first location def insert_first(self, key, data): # create a link new_node = Node(key, data) if self.is_empty(): self.head = new_node self.head.next = self.head else: # point it to old first node new_node.next = self.head # point first to new first node self.head = new_node # delete first item def delete_first(self): # save reference to first link if self.head.next == self.head: temp_link = self.head self.head = None return temp_link # mark next to first link as first temp_link = self.head self.head = self.head.next # return the deleted link return temp_link # Diplay the list def print_list(self): ptr = self.head print("[", end=" ") # start from the beginning if self.head is not None: while ptr.next != ptr: print("({}, {})".format(ptr.key, ptr.data), end=" ") ptr = ptr.next print("]") # Main function if __name__ == ''__main__'': linked_list = LinkedList() linked_list.insert_first(1, 10) linked_list.insert_first(2, 20) linked_list.insert_first(3, 30) linked_list.insert_first(4, 1) linked_list.insert_first(5, 40) linked_list.insert_first(6, 56) print("Original List: ", end="") linked_list.print_list() while not linked_list.is_empty(): temp = linked_list.delete_first() print("nDeleted value: ({}, {})".format(temp.key, temp.data)) # print list print("List after deleting all items: ", end="") linked_list.print_list()
Output
Original List: [ (6, 56) (5, 40) (4, 1) (3, 30) (2, 20) ] Deleted value: (6, 56) Deleted value: (5, 40) Deleted value: (4, 1) Deleted value: (3, 30) Deleted value: (2, 20)Deleted value: (1, 10) List after deleting all items: [ ]
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