09-core-linked-list-nodes

Computer Science

Linked Lists

Linked Lists are a data structure consisting of multiple nodes that contain the data we're keeping track of. Each node is "linked" to another node, meaning that it either points to or has another node pointing to it. This way, when someone has access to the first element of a linked list, they can traverse the entire list and see every element within that list.

Instructions

• In this series of activities, we're going to be building a linked list and all its associated methods up from scratch.

  • Within the Node.js file, fill out the Node constructor function by following the instructions below.

• The first step is to construct the Nodes of a linked list. We will be using constructor functions in order to do this.

• Create the constructor function for a new Node object that optionally takes in a value to instantiate the Node with.

  • The Node object needs to keep track of it's value along with a pointer to the next element of the linked list.
  • The value should be null for now unless the constructor function is called with an argument, in which case we use the argument as the value instead of the default null
  • next will be null until we link this Node to another one.

• Next, we're going to add some methods to our Node object so we're not operating directly on the data stored inside it.

  • Add a getValue method that returns the value of our node
  • Add a getNext method that returns the node next points to
  • Add a setValue method that stores the argument inside value
    • If this isn't passed an argument, it should set value to be null
  • Add a setNext method that stores the node passed to it as argument
    • If this isn't passed an argument, it should set setNext to be null