LINKED

LIST

Common
coding
Interview
problems
 20

Linkedin problems
1 — Count() Solution
A straightforward iteration down the list — just like Length().
int Count(struct node* head, int searchFor) {
struct node* current = head;
int count = 0;

while (current != NULL) {

if (current->data == searchFor) count++;
current = current->next;
}

return count;
}

Alternately, the iteration may be coded with a for loop instead of a while...
int Count2(struct node* head, int searchFor) {
struct node* current;
int count = 0;

for (current = head; current != NULL; current = current->next) {

if (current->data == searchFor) count++;
}

return count;
}

2 — GetNth() Solution
Combine standard list iteration with the additional problem of counting over to find the
right node. Off-by-one errors are common in this sort of code. Check it carefully against a
simple case. If it's right for n=0, n=1, and n=2, it will probably be right for n=1000.
int GetNth(struct node* head, int index) {
struct node* current = head;
int count = 0; // the index of the node we're currently looking at

while (current != NULL) {

if (count == index) return(current->data);
count++;
current = current->next;
}

assert(0); // if we get to this line, the caller was asking

// for a non-existent element so we assert fail.
}
 21

3 — DeleteList() Solution
Delete the whole list and set the head pointer to NULL. There is a slight complication
inside the loop, since we need extract the .next pointer before we delete the node, since
after the delete it will be technically unavailable.
void DeleteList(struct node** headRef) {
struct node* current = *headRef; // deref headRef to get the real head
struct node* next;

while (current != NULL) {

next = current->next; // note the next pointer
free(current); // delete the node
current = next; // advance to the next node
}

*headRef = NULL; // Again, deref headRef to affect the real head back
// in the caller.
}

4 — Pop() Solution
Extract the data from the head node, delete the node, advance the head pointer to point at
the next node in line. Uses a reference parameter since it changes the head pointer.
int Pop(struct node** headRef) {
struct node* head;
int result;

head = *headRef;
assert(head != NULL);

result = head->data; // pull out the data before the node is deleted

*headRef = head->next; // unlink the head node for the caller

// Note the * -- uses a reference-pointer
// just like Push() and DeleteList().

free(head); // free the head node

return(result); // don't forget to return the data from the link

}

5 — InsertNth() Solution
This code handles inserting at the very front as a special case. Otherwise, it works by
running a current pointer to the node before where the new node should go. Uses a for
loop to march the pointer forward. The exact bounds of the loop (the use of < vs <=, n vs.
n-1) are always tricky — the best approach is to get the general structure of the iteration
correct first, and then make a careful drawing of a couple test cases to adjust the n vs. n-1
cases to be correct. (The so called "OBOB" — Off By One Boundary cases.) The OBOB
cases are always tricky and not that interesting. Write the correct basic structure and then
use a test case to get the OBOB cases correct. Once the insertion point has been
determined, this solution uses Push() to do the link in. Alternately, the 3-Step Link In
code could be pasted here directly.
 22

void InsertNth(struct node** headRef, int index, int data) {

// position 0 is a special case...
if (index == 0) Push(headRef, data);
else {
struct node* current = *headRef;
int i;

for (i=0; i<index-1; i++) {

assert(current != NULL); // if this fails, index was too big
current = current->next;
}

assert(current != NULL); // tricky: you have to check one last time

Push(&(current->next), data); // Tricky use of Push() --

// The pointer being pushed on is not
// in the stack. But actually this works
// fine -- Push() works for any node pointer.
}
}

6 — SortedInsert() Solution
The basic strategy is to iterate down the list looking for the place to insert the new node.
That could be the end of the list, or a point just before a node which is larger than the new
node. The three solutions presented handle the "head end" case in different ways...
// Uses special case code for the head end
void SortedInsert(struct node** headRef, struct node* newNode) {
// Special case for the head end
if (*headRef == NULL || (*headRef)->data >= newNode->data) {
newNode->next = *headRef;
*headRef = newNode;
}
else {
// Locate the node before the point of insertion
struct node* current = *headRef;
while (current->next!=NULL && current->next->data<newNode->data) {
current = current->next;
}
newNode->next = current->next;
current->next = newNode;
}
}

// Dummy node strategy for the head end

void SortedInsert2(struct node** headRef, struct node* newNode) {
struct node dummy;
struct node* current = &dummy;
dummy.next = *headRef;

while (current->next!=NULL && current->next->data<newNode->data) {

current = current->next;
}

newNode->next = current->next;
current->next = newNode;
 23

*headRef = dummy.next;
}

// Local references strategy for the head end

void SortedInsert3(struct node** headRef, struct node* newNode) {
struct node** currentRef = headRef;

while (*currentRef!=NULL && (*currentRef)->data<newNode->data) {

currentRef = &((*currentRef)->next);
}

newNode->next = *currentRef; // Bug: this line used to have

// an incorrect (*currRef)->next
*currentRef = newNode;
}

7 — InsertSort() Solution
Start with an empty result list. Iterate through the source list and SortedInsert() each of its
nodes into the result list. Be careful to note the .next field in each node before moving
it into the result list.
// Given a list, change it to be in sorted order (using SortedInsert()).
void InsertSort(struct node** headRef) {
struct node* result = NULL; // build the answer here
struct node* current = *headRef; // iterate over the original list
struct node* next;

while (current!=NULL) {
next = current->next; // tricky - note the next pointer before we change it
SortedInsert(&result, current);
current = next;
}

*headRef = result;
}

8 — Append() Solution
The case where the 'a' list is empty is a special case handled first — in that case the 'a'
head pointer needs to be changed directly. Otherwise we iterate down the 'a' list until we
find its last node with the test (current->next != NULL), and then tack on the 'b'
list there. Finally, the original 'b' head is set to NULL. This code demonstrates extensive
use of pointer reference parameters, and the common problem of needing to locate the
last node in a list. (There is also a drawing of how Append() uses memory below.)
void Append(struct node** aRef, struct node** bRef) {
struct node* current;

if (*aRef == NULL) { // Special case if a is empty

*aRef = *bRef;
}
else { // Otherwise, find the end of a, and append b there
current = *aRef;
while (current->next != NULL) { // find the last node
current = current->next;
}
 24

current->next = *bRef; // hang the b list off the last node

}

*bRef=NULL; // NULL the original b, since it has been appended above

}

Append() Test and Drawing

The following AppendTest() code calls Append() to join two lists. What does memory
look like just before the call to Append() exits?
void AppendTest() {
struct node* a;
struct node* b;

// set a to {1, 2}
// set b to {3, 4}

Append(&a, &b);
}

As an example of how reference parameters work, note how reference parameters in

Append() point back to the head pointers in AppendTest()...

Stack Heap

AppendTest()
a 1 2

Append(&a, &b)
aRef 3 4
bRef

current

9 — FrontBackSplit() Solution
Two solutions are presented...
// Uses the "count the nodes" strategy
void FrontBackSplit(struct node* source,
struct node** frontRef, struct node** backRef) {

int len = Length(source);

int i;
struct node* current = source;
 25

if (len < 2) {
*frontRef = source;
*backRef = NULL;
}
else {
int hopCount = (len-1)/2; //(figured these with a few drawings)
for (i = 0; i<hopCount; i++) {
current = current->next;
}

// Now cut at current

*frontRef = source;
*backRef = current->next;
current->next = NULL;
}
}

// Uses the fast/slow pointer strategy

void FrontBackSplit2(struct node* source,
struct node** frontRef, struct node** backRef) {
struct node* fast;
struct node* slow;

if (source==NULL || source->next==NULL) { // length < 2 cases

*frontRef = source;
*backRef = NULL;
}
else {
slow = source;
fast = source->next;

// Advance 'fast' two nodes, and advance 'slow' one node

while (fast != NULL) {
fast = fast->next;
if (fast != NULL) {
slow = slow->next;
fast = fast->next;
}
}

// 'slow' is before the midpoint in the list, so split it in two

// at that point.
*frontRef = source;
*backRef = slow->next;
slow->next = NULL;
}
}

10 — RemoveDuplicates() Solution
Since the list is sorted, we can proceed down the list and compare adjacent nodes. When
adjacent nodes are the same, remove the second one. There's a tricky case where the node
after the next node needs to be noted before the deletion.
// Remove duplicates from a sorted list
void RemoveDuplicates(struct node* head) {
struct node* current = head;
 26

if (current == NULL) return; // do nothing if the list is empty

// Compare current node with next node

while(current->next!=NULL) {
if (current->data == current->next->data) {
struct node* nextNext = current->next->next;
free(current->next);
current->next = nextNext;
}
else {
current = current->next; // only advance if no deletion
}
}
}

11 — MoveNode() Solution
The MoveNode() code is most similar to the code for Push(). It's short — just changing a
couple pointers — but it's complex. Make a drawing.
void MoveNode(struct node** destRef, struct node** sourceRef) {
struct node* newNode = *sourceRef; // the front source node
assert(newNode != NULL);

*sourceRef = newNode->next; // Advance the source pointer

newNode->next = *destRef; // Link the old dest off the new node
*destRef = newNode; // Move dest to point to the new node
}

12 — AlternatingSplit() Solution
The simplest approach iterates over the source list and use MoveNode() to pull nodes off
the source and alternately put them on 'a' and b'. The only strange part is that the nodes
will be in the reverse order that they occurred in the source list.

AlternatingSplit()
void AlternatingSplit(struct node* source,
struct node** aRef, struct node** bRef) {
struct node* a = NULL; // Split the nodes to these 'a' and 'b' lists
struct node* b = NULL;

struct node* current = source;

while (current != NULL) {
MoveNode(&a, &current); // Move a node to 'a'
if (current != NULL) {
MoveNode(&b, &current); // Move a node to 'b'
}
}
*aRef = a;
*bRef = b;
}
 27

AlternatingSplit() Using Dummy Nodes

Here is an alternative approach which builds the sub-lists in the same order as the source
list. The code uses a temporary dummy header nodes for the 'a' and 'b' lists as they are
being built. Each sublist has a "tail" pointer which points to its current last node — that
way new nodes can be appended to the end of each list easily. The dummy nodes give the
tail pointers something to point to initially. The dummy nodes are efficient in this case
because they are temporary and allocated in the stack. Alternately, the "local references"
technique could be used to get rid of the dummy nodes (see Section 1 for more details).
void AlternatingSplit2(struct node* source,
struct node** aRef, struct node** bRef) {
struct node aDummy;
struct node* aTail = &aDummy; // points to the last node in 'a'
struct node bDummy;
struct node* bTail = &bDummy; // points to the last node in 'b'
struct node* current = source;

aDummy.next = NULL;
bDummy.next = NULL;

while (current != NULL) {

MoveNode(&(aTail->next), &current); // add at 'a' tail
aTail = aTail->next; // advance the 'a' tail
if (current != NULL) {
MoveNode(&(bTail->next), &current);
bTail = bTail->next;
}
}

*aRef = aDummy.next;
*bRef = bDummy.next;
}

13 SuffleMerge() Solution
There are four separate solutions included. See Section 1 for information on the various
dummy node and reference techniques.

SuffleMerge() — Dummy Node Not Using MoveNode()

struct node* ShuffleMerge(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node dummy;
struct node* tail = &dummy;
dummy.next = NULL;

while (1) {
if (a==NULL) { // empty list cases
tail->next = b;
break;
}
else if (b==NULL) {
tail->next = a;
break;
}
else { // common case: move two nodes to tail
tail->next = a;
tail = a;
a = a->next;
 28

tail->next = b;
tail = b;
b = b->next;
}
}

return(dummy.next);
}

SuffleMerge() — Dummy Node Using MoveNode()

Basically the same as above, but use MoveNode().
struct node* ShuffleMerge(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node dummy;
struct node* tail = &dummy;
dummy.next = NULL;

while (1) {
if (a==NULL) {
tail->next = b;
break;
}
else if (b==NULL) {
tail->next = a;
break;
}
else {
MoveNode(&(tail->next), &a);
tail = tail->next;
MoveNode(&(tail->next), &b);
tail = tail->next;
}
}

return(dummy.next);
}

SuffleMerge() — Local References

Uses a local reference to get rid of the dummy nodes entirely.
struct node* ShuffleMerge(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node* result = NULL;
struct node** lastPtrRef = &result;

while (1) {
if (a==NULL) {
*lastPtrRef = b;
break;
}
else if (b==NULL) {
*lastPtrRef = a;
break;
}
else {
MoveNode(lastPtrRef, &a);
lastPtrRef = &((*lastPtrRef)->next);
MoveNode(lastPtrRef, &b);
lastPtrRef = &((*lastPtrRef)->next);
 29

}
}

return(result);
}

SuffleMerge() — Recursive
The recursive solution is the most compact of all, but is probably not appropriate for
production code since it uses stack space proportionate to the lengths of the lists.
struct node* ShuffleMerge(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node* result;
struct node* recur;

if (a==NULL) return(b); // see if either list is empty

else if (b==NULL) return(a);
else {
// it turns out to be convenient to do the recursive call first --
// otherwise a->next and b->next need temporary storage.

recur = ShuffleMerge(a->next, b->next);

result = a; // one node from a

a->next = b; // one from b
b->next = recur; // then the rest
return(result);
}
}

14 — SortedMerge() Solution
SortedMerge() Using Dummy Nodes
The strategy here uses a temporary dummy node as the start of the result list. The pointer
tail always points to the last node in the result list, so appending new nodes is easy.
The dummy node gives tail something to point to initially when the result list is empty.
This dummy node is efficient, since it is only temporary, and it is allocated in the stack.
The loop proceeds, removing one node from either 'a' or 'b', and adding it to tail. When
we are done, the result is in dummy.next.
struct node* SortedMerge(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node dummy; // a dummy first node to hang the result on
struct node* tail = &dummy; // Points to the last result node --
// so tail->next is the place to add
// new nodes to the result.

dummy.next = NULL;

while (1) {
if (a == NULL) { // if either list runs out, use the other list
tail->next = b;
break;
}
else if (b == NULL) {
tail->next = a;
break;
}
 30

if (a->data <= b->data) {

MoveNode(&(tail->next), &a);
}
else {
MoveNode(&(tail->next), &b);
}
tail = tail->next;
}

return(dummy.next);
}

SortedMerge() Using Local References

This solution is structurally very similar to the above, but it avoids using a dummy node.
Instead, it maintains a struct node** pointer, lastPtrRef, that always points to the last
pointer of the result list. This solves the same case that the dummy node did — dealing
with the result list when it is empty. If you are trying to build up a list at its tail, either the
dummy node or the struct node** "reference" strategy can be used (see Section 1 for
details).
struct node* SortedMerge2(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node* result = NULL;
struct node** lastPtrRef = &result; // point to the last result pointer

while (1) {
if (a==NULL) {
*lastPtrRef = b;
break;
}
else if (b==NULL) {
*lastPtrRef = a;
break;
}

if (a->data <= b->data) {

MoveNode(lastPtrRef, &a);
}
else {
MoveNode(lastPtrRef, &b);
}
lastPtrRef = &((*lastPtrRef)->next); // tricky: advance to point to
// the next ".next" field

return(result);
}

SortedMerge() Using Recursion

Merge() is one of those nice recursive problems where the recursive solution code is
much cleaner than the iterative code. You probably wouldn't want to use the recursive
version for production code however, because it will use stack space which is
proportional to the length of the lists.
struct node* SortedMerge3(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node* result = NULL;
 31

// Base cases
if (a==NULL) return(b);
else if (b==NULL) return(a);

// Pick either a or b, and recur

if (a->data <= b->data) {
result = a;
result->next = SortedMerge3(a->next, b);
}
else {
result = b;
result->next = SortedMerge3(a, b->next);
}

return(result);
}

15 — MergeSort() Solution
The MergeSort strategy is: split into sublists, sort the sublists recursively, merge the two
sorted lists together to form the answer.
void MergeSort(struct node** headRef) {
struct node* head = *headRef;
struct node* a;
struct node* b;

// Base case -- length 0 or 1

if ((head == NULL) || (head->next == NULL)) {
return;
}

FrontBackSplit(head, &a, &b); // Split head into 'a' and 'b' sublists
// We could just as well use AlternatingSplit()

MergeSort(&a); // Recursively sort the sublists

MergeSort(&b);

*headRef = SortedMerge(a, b); // answer = merge the two sorted lists together
}

(Extra for experts) Using recursive stack space proportional to the length of a list is not
recommended. However, the recursion in this case is ok — it uses stack space which is
proportional to the log of the length of the list. For a 1000 node list, the recursion will
only go about 10 deep. For a 2000 node list, it will go 11 deep. If you think about it, you
can see that doubling the size of the list only increases the depth by 1.

16 — SortedIntersect() Solution
The strategy is to advance up both lists and build the result list as we go. When the
current point in both lists are the same, add a node to the result. Otherwise, advance
whichever list is smaller. By exploiting the fact that both lists are sorted, we only traverse
each list once. To build up the result list, both the dummy node and local reference
strategy solutions are shown...
// This solution uses the temporary dummy to build up the result list
struct node* SortedIntersect(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node dummy;
 32

struct node* tail = &dummy;

dummy.next = NULL;

// Once one or the other list runs out -- we're done

while (a!=NULL && b!=NULL) {
if (a->data == b->data) {
Push((&tail->next), a->data);
tail = tail->next;
a = a->next;
b = b->next;
}
else if (a->data < b->data) { // advance the smaller list
a = a->next;
}
else {
b = b->next;
}
}

return(dummy.next);
}

// This solution uses the local reference

struct node* SortedIntersect2(struct node* a, struct node* b) {
struct node* result = NULL;
struct node** lastPtrRef = &result;

// Advance comparing the first nodes in both lists.

// When one or the other list runs out, we're done.
while (a!=NULL && b!=NULL) {
if (a->data == b->data) { // found a node for the intersection
Push(lastPtrRef, a->data);
lastPtrRef = &((*lastPtrRef)->next);
a=a->next;
b=b->next;
}
else if (a->data < b->data) { // advance the smaller list
a=a->next;
}
else {
b=b->next;
}
}

return(result);
}

17 — Reverse() Solution
This first solution uses the "Push" strategy with the pointer re-arrangement hand coded
inside the loop. There's a slight trickyness in that it needs to save the value of the
"current->next" pointer at the top of the loop since the body of the loop overwrites that
pointer.
/*
Iterative list reverse.
Iterate through the list left-right.
 33

Move/insert each node to the front of the result list --

like a Push of the node.
*/
static void Reverse(struct node** headRef) {
struct node* result = NULL;
struct node* current = *headRef;
struct node* next;

while (current != NULL) {

next = current->next; // tricky: note the next node

current->next = result; // move the node onto the result

result = current;

current = next;
}

*headRef = result;
}

Here's the variation on the above that uses MoveNode() to do the work...
static void Reverse2(struct node** headRef) {
struct node* result = NULL;
struct node* current = *headRef;

while (current != NULL) {

MoveNode(&result, &current);
}

*headRef = result;
}

Finally, here's the back-middle-front strategy...

// Reverses the given linked list by changing its .next pointers and
// its head pointer. Takes a pointer (reference) to the head pointer.
void Reverse(struct node** headRef) {
if (*headRef != NULL) { // special case: skip the empty list

/*
Plan for this loop: move three pointers: front, middle, back
down the list in order. Middle is the main pointer running
down the list. Front leads it and Back trails it.
For each step, reverse the middle pointer and then advance all
three to get the next node.
*/

struct node* middle = *headRef; // the main pointer

struct node* front = middle->next; // the two other pointers (NULL ok)
struct node* back = NULL;

while (1) {
middle->next = back; // fix the middle node

if (front == NULL) break; // test if done

 34

back = middle; // advance the three pointers

middle = front;
front = front->next;
}

*headRef = middle; // fix the head pointer to point to the new front
}
}

18 — RecursiveReverse() Solution
Probably the hardest part is accepting the concept that the
RecursiveReverse(&rest) does in fact reverse the rest. Then then there's a trick
to getting the one front node all the way to the end of the list. Make a drwaing to see how
the trick works.
void RecursiveReverse(struct node** headRef) {
struct node* first;
struct node* rest;

if (*headRef == NULL) return; // empty list base case

first = *headRef; // suppose first = {1, 2, 3}

rest = first->next; // rest = {2, 3}

if (rest == NULL) return; // empty rest base case

RecursiveReverse(&rest); // Recursively reverse the smaller {2, 3} case

// after: rest = {3, 2}

first->next->next = first; // put the first elem on the end of the list
first->next = NULL; // (tricky step -- make a drawing)

*headRef = rest; // fix the head pointer

}

The inefficient soluition is to reverse the last n-1 elements of the list, and then iterate all
the way down to the new tail and put the old head node there. That solution is very slow
compared to the above which gets the head node in the right place without extra iteration.
 35

Appendix
Basic Utility Function Implementations
Here is the source code for the basic utility functions.

Length()
// Return the number of nodes in a list
int Length(struct node* head) {
int count = 0;
struct node* current = head;

while (current != NULL) {

count++;
current=current->next;
}

return(count);
}

Push()
// Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head
// of a list and an int, push a new node on the front of the list.
// Creates a new node with the int, links the list off the .next of the
// new node, and finally changes the head to point to the new node.
void Push(struct node** headRef, int newData) {
struct node* newNode =
(struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node)); // allocate node
newNode->data = newData; // put in the data
newNode->next = (*headRef); // link the old list off the new node
(*headRef) = newNode; // move the head to point to the new node
}

BuildOneTwoThree()
// Build and return the list {1, 2, 3}
struct node* BuildOneTwoThree() {
struct node* head = NULL; // Start with the empty list
Push(&head, 3); // Use Push() to add all the data
Push(&head, 2);
Push(&head, 1);

return(head);
}
 FOLLOW

ANKIT PANGASA