Node Structure and Pointer Design in DSA C - Build from Scratch

Node Structure and Pointer Design

📖 Scenario: Imagine you are building a simple linked list to store numbers. Each item in the list is called a node. Each node holds a number and a pointer to the next node. This helps us connect nodes in a chain.

🎯 Goal: You will create a node structure with a number and a pointer to the next node. Then, you will create two nodes and link them together. Finally, you will print the values of the nodes to see the chain.

📋 What You'll Learn

Define a struct called Node with an int data and a Node* pointer called next

Create two Node variables called node1 and node2

Set node1.data to 10 and node2.data to 20

Link node1.next to &node2 and node2.next to NULL

Print the data of node1 and the data of the node pointed by node1.next

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Linked lists are used in many programs to store data in a flexible way. Understanding nodes and pointers helps you build these lists.

💼 Career

Knowing how to design node structures and use pointers is essential for software developers working with low-level data structures, embedded systems, or performance-critical applications.

1

Define the Node structure

Define a struct called Node with an int data and a pointer Node* next to the next node.

DSA C

// Define the Node struct here
// Your code here

Hint

Use typedef struct Node to define the structure. Inside, add int data; and struct Node* next;.

2

Create and initialize two nodes

Create two variables called node1 and node2 of type Node. Set node1.data to 10 and node2.data to 20. Set node1.next and node2.next to NULL.

DSA C

#include 
#include 

typedef struct Node {
    int data;
    struct Node* next;
} Node;

// Create node1 and node2 and initialize data and next pointers
// Your code here

Hint

Declare Node node1; and Node node2;. Set their data fields and set next to NULL.

3

Link the nodes

Set node1.next to point to &node2 to link the first node to the second node.

DSA C

#include 
#include 

typedef struct Node {
    int data;
    struct Node* next;
} Node;

int main() {
    Node node1;
    Node node2;

    node1.data = 10;
    node1.next = NULL;

    node2.data = 20;
    node2.next = NULL;

    // Link node1 to node2
    // Your code here

    return 0;
}

Hint

Assign node1.next = &node2; to link the first node to the second.

4

Print the node data

Print the data of node1 and the data of the node pointed to by node1.next using printf. Use node1.data and node1.next->data.

DSA C

#include 
#include 

typedef struct Node {
    int data;
    struct Node* next;
} Node;

int main() {
    Node node1;
    Node node2;

    node1.data = 10;
    node1.next = &node2;

    node2.data = 20;
    node2.next = NULL;

    // Print node data
    // Your code here

    return 0;
}

Hint

Use printf("%d -> %d -> NULL\n", node1.data, node1.next->data); to print the linked nodes.