Linked Structures

Traverse and Print

Walk from the head pointer to null, visiting each node exactly once without random indexing.

Algorithm

The replay labels nodes by value, such as node(20), and never exposes object identity or memory addresses. This C# DSA implementation uses the same small chain as the rest of the DSA track.

cursor A cursor reference names the node currently being visited.
null stop Traversal ends when the cursor reaches the null marker.

Basic Implementation

basic.cs
Replay: real traced execution (multi-file project)
using System;
using System.Text;

class Node {
    public int Value;
    public Node? Next;
    public Node(int value, Node? next = null) {
        Value = value;
        Next = next;
    }
}

class Program {
    static string Render(Node? head) {
        var outText = new StringBuilder();
        var cursor = head;
        while (cursor != null) {
            if (outText.Length > 0) outText.Append(" -> ");
            outText.Append(cursor.Value);
            cursor = cursor.Next;
        }
        return outText.Append(" -> null").ToString();
    }
    static void Main() {
        Node head = new Node(10, new Node(20, new Node(30)));
        Console.WriteLine(Render(head));
    }
}

  1. head ← 10 -> 20 -> 30 -> null

    1using System;2using System.Text;
    values this step10 -> 20 -> 30 -> nullhead

  2. output ← 10

    16var cursor = head;17while (cursor != null) {18    if (outText.Length > 0) outText.Append(" -> ");
    values this step10outputnode(10)cursor

  3. output ← 10 -> 20

    16var cursor = head;17while (cursor != null) {18    if (outText.Length > 0) outText.Append(" -> ");
    values this step10 -> 20outputnode(20)cursor

  4. output ← 10 -> 20 -> 30 -> null

    16var cursor = head;17while (cursor != null) {18    if (outText.Length > 0) outText.Append(" -> ");
    values this step10 -> 20 -> 30 -> nulloutputnode(30)cursor

  5. stdout ← 10 -> 20 -> 30 -> null

    25    Node head = new Node(10, new Node(20, new Node(30)));26    Console.WriteLine(Render(head));27}
    values this step10 -> 20 -> 30 -> nullstdout10 -> 20 -> 30 -> nulloutput

Complexity

  • Time: O(n)
  • Space: O(1)

Implementation notes

  • Keep the explicit node and pointer/reference operations; array shortcuts hide the linked-list state this lesson is meant to replay.
  • The final output prints the chain in a deterministic a -> b -> null form for cross-language comparison.