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 Python 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.py
Replay: real traced execution (multi-file project)
class Node:
    __slots__ = ("value", "next")
    def __init__(self, value, nxt=None):
        self.value = value
        self.next = nxt

def render(head):
    parts = []
    cursor = head
    while cursor is not None:
        parts.append(str(cursor.value))
        cursor = cursor.next
    return " -> ".join(parts) + " -> null"

head = Node(10, Node(20, Node(30)))
print(render(head))

  1. head ← 10 -> 20 -> 30 -> null

    1class Node:2    __slots__ = ("value", "next")
    values this step10 -> 20 -> 30 -> nullhead

  2. output ← 10

    9cursor = head10while cursor is not None:11    parts.append(str(cursor.value))
    values this step10outputnode(10)cursor

  3. output ← 10 -> 20

    9cursor = head10while cursor is not None:11    parts.append(str(cursor.value))
    values this step10 -> 20outputnode(20)cursor

  4. output ← 10 -> 20 -> 30 -> null

    9cursor = head10while cursor is not None:11    parts.append(str(cursor.value))
    values this step10 -> 20 -> 30 -> nulloutputnode(30)cursor

  5. stdout ← 10 -> 20 -> 30 -> null

    15head = Node(10, Node(20, Node(30)))16print(render(head))
    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.