What is the difference between a queue and a linked list in terms of memory allocation?

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What is the difference between a queue and a linked list in terms of memory allocation?

In terms of memory allocation, the main difference between a queue and a linked list lies in how they store and manage their elements.

A queue is a linear data structure that follows the First-In-First-Out (FIFO) principle. It can be implemented using either an array or a linked list. When using an array to implement a queue, a fixed amount of memory is allocated upfront to store the elements. This means that the memory allocation for a queue using an array is static and fixed, regardless of the number of elements in the queue. If the queue becomes full and more elements need to be added, it may require resizing the array and copying the existing elements to the new memory location, which can be an expensive operation.

On the other hand, a linked list is a dynamic data structure where memory is allocated dynamically as elements are added or removed. Each element in a linked list, known as a node, contains both the data and a reference (or pointer) to the next node in the list. This dynamic memory allocation allows a linked list to grow or shrink as needed, without the need for resizing or copying elements. However, the dynamic memory allocation in a linked list can lead to additional memory overhead due to the need to store the pointers for each node.

In summary, the main difference in terms of memory allocation between a queue implemented using an array and a linked list is that the array-based queue has a fixed memory allocation upfront, while the linked list dynamically allocates memory as needed.