Arizona State University (ASU) CSE240 Introduction to Programming Languages Midterm Practice Exam

A linked list is defined as a linear data structure where elements point to the next element in the sequence. This definition highlights the key characteristic of a linked list: each element, often called a node, contains a reference or a pointer to the next node. This structure allows for efficient insertion and deletion operations since the elements are not stored in contiguous memory locations, as they would be in an array. Instead, the nodes can be scattered in memory, and the pointers maintain the sequence.

The nature of linked lists makes them flexible, as they can grow and shrink in size dynamically, and this is particularly advantageous when the number of elements is not known in advance. Because each node can point to the next, traversing the list is straightforward, starting from a head node and following the pointers until reaching the end of the list, which is identified by a null reference for the next pointer of the last node.

The other options don't accurately capture the concept of a linked list. While contiguous memory is associated with arrays, it doesn't apply here. Hierarchical structures pertain to trees, not linked lists, and a structure that only allows access to the last element describes a stack rather than a linked list.