Java - Interview Questions and Answers on LinkedList

Q1.  Difference between ArrayList and LinkedList ?

Ans. LinkedList and ArrayList are two different implementations of the List interface. LinkedList implements it with a doubly-linked list. ArrayList implements it with a dynamically resizing array.

Q2.  If you are given a choice to use either ArrayList and LinkedList, Which one would you use and Why ?

Ans. ArrayList are implemented in memory as arrays and hence allows fast retrieval through indices but are costly if new elements are to be inserted in between other elements. 

LinkedList allows for constant-time insertions or removals using iterators, but only sequential access of elements 

1. Retrieval - If Elements are to be retrieved sequentially only, Linked List is preferred.

2. Insertion - If new Elements are to be inserted in between other elements , Array List is preferred.

3. Search - Binary Search and other optimized way of searching is not possible on Linked List.

4. Sorting - Initial sorting could be pain but lateral addition of elements in a sorted list is good with linked list.

5. Adding Elements - If sufficiently large elements needs to be added very frequently ,Linked List is preferable as elements don't need consecutive memory location.

Q3.  Is it legal to initialize List like this ?

LinkedList<Integer> l=new LinkedList<int>(); 

Ans. No, Generic parameters cannot be primitives.

Q4.  Which of the following syntax are correct ?

a. LinkedList<Integer> l=new LinkedList<int>();
b. List<Integer> l=new LinkedList<int>();
c. LinkedList<Integer> l=new LinkedList<Integer>();
d. List<Integer> l = new LinkedList<Integer>();

Ans. c and d are correct.

Q5.  What is the difference between ArrayList and LinkedList ?

Ans. Underlying data structure for ArrayList is Array whereas LinkedList is the linked list and hence have following differences -

1. ArrayList needs continuous memory locations and hence need to be moved to a bigger space if new elements are to be added to a filled array which is not required for LinkedList.

2. Removal and Insertion at specific place in ArrayList requires moving all elements and hence leads to O(n) insertions and removal whereas its constant O(1) for LinkedList.

3. Random access using index in ArrayList is faster than LinkedList which requires traversing the complete list through references.

4. Though Linear Search takes Similar Time for both, Binary Search using LinkedList requires creating new Model called Binary Search Tree which is slower but offers constant time insertion and deletion.

5. For a set of integers you want to sort using quicksort, it's probably faster to use an array; for a set of large structures you want to sort using selection sort, a linked list will be faster.   

Q6. Which interfaces are implemented by LinkedList?

Ans.[, Serializable, Queue<E>, List<E>, Cloneable, Collection<E>, Deque<E>, Iterable<E>]

Q7. What is the package name for LinkedList class?

Ans.java.util

Q8. Which is the Parent Class of LinkedList class?


Ans.java.util.AbstractSequentialList<E>