Rust Program: Inserting elements at the front of a singly linked list

Last update on December 21 2024 10:21:38 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Write a Rust program to insert elements into a singly linked list at the front.

Sample Solution:

Rust Code:

// Define a struct representing a node in the singly linked list
#[derive(Debug)]
struct Node<T> {
    data: T,                      // Data stored in the node
    next: Option<Box<Node<T>>>,  // Pointer to the next node
}

// Define an implementation for the Node struct
impl<T> Node<T> {
    // Constructor function to create a new node
    fn new(data: T) -> Self {
        Node { data, next: None }
    }
}

// Define a struct representing a singly linked list
struct SinglyLinkedList<T> {
    head: Option<Box<Node<T>>>,  // Pointer to the head node of the linked list
}

// Define an implementation for the SinglyLinkedList struct
impl<T> SinglyLinkedList<T> {
    // Constructor function to create a new empty singly linked list
    fn new() -> Self {
        SinglyLinkedList { head: None }
    }

    // Function to insert an element at the front of the linked list
    fn insert_front(&mut self, data: T) {
        // Create a new node with the given data
        let mut new_node = Box::new(Node::new(data));

        // Update the next pointer of the new node to point to the current head node
        new_node.next = self.head.take();

        // Update the head pointer to point to the new node
        self.head = Some(new_node);
    }
}

fn main() {
    // Create an empty singly linked list
    let mut list: SinglyLinkedList<i32> = SinglyLinkedList::new();

    // Insert elements at the front of the linked list
    list.insert_front(3);
    list.insert_front(2);
    list.insert_front(1);

    // Print the linked list
    println!("Linked List: {:?}", list.head);
}

Output:

Linked List: Some(Node { data: 1, next: Some(Node { data: 2, next: Some(Node { data: 3, next: None }) }) })

Explanation:

Here is a brief explanation of the above Rust code:

• Node<T> struct:
• Represents a node in the singly linked list. It contains two fields: data, which stores the data of the node, and 'next', which is an 'Option' containing a pointer to the next node.
• Implementation block for Node<T>: Provides a constructor function "new()" to create a new node with the given data and 'next' set to 'None'.
• SinglyLinkedList<T> struct:
• Represents a singly linked list with a single field 'head', which is an 'Option' containing a pointer to the head node of the linked list.
• Implementation block for SinglyLinkedList<T>: Provides a constructor function "new()" to create a new empty singly linked list and a method "insert_front()" to insert an element at the front of the linked list.
• In the main() function:
• An empty singly linked list is created.
• Elements are inserted at the front of the linked list using the "insert_front()" method.
• The linked list is printed to visualize its structure.

Rust Code Editor:

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