8 hours ago
- Linked lists are educational, teaching fundamental concepts like pointers, O(1) and O(N) complexity.
- Linked lists are augmentable: can be made doubly linked, skip lists, unrolled lists, or embedded (e.g., in Linux kernel).
- Linked lists are composable: can split or glue two lists in O(1), useful in Redis threaded operations.
- Linked lists are useful: used in Redis and Linux kernel, and resemble natural processes like adding items in order.
- Linked lists are simple to implement from memory with low risk of errors.
- Linked lists are conceptual, with metaphors like self-referencing nodes (infinite loops) and NULL pointers (loneliness).