Arrays Linked Lists Questions Medium
In terms of memory utilization, the main difference between a linked list and an array lies in their respective data structures.
An array is a contiguous block of memory that stores elements of the same data type. It has a fixed size determined at the time of declaration. This means that even if the array does not contain elements in all of its positions, the memory for the entire array is allocated. As a result, arrays can potentially waste memory if they are not fully utilized.
On the other hand, a linked list is a data structure composed of individual nodes, where each node contains a value and a reference (or pointer) to the next node in the list. Unlike an array, a linked list does not require a contiguous block of memory. Each node can be located anywhere in memory, and they are connected through pointers. This dynamic allocation of memory allows a linked list to efficiently utilize memory by only allocating memory for the nodes that are actually needed.
In summary, the key difference in memory utilization between a linked list and an array is that arrays allocate memory for a fixed size, regardless of the number of elements actually stored, potentially leading to memory wastage. In contrast, linked lists allocate memory dynamically as nodes are added, resulting in more efficient memory utilization.