Java Program For Inserting A Node In A Linked List
Last Updated :
01 Sep, 2022
We have introduced Linked Lists in the previous post. We also created a simple linked list with 3 nodes and discussed linked list traversal.
All programs discussed in this post consider the following representations of the linked list.
Java
// Linked List Class
class LinkedList
{
// Head of list
Node head;
// Node Class
class Node
{
int data;
Node next;
// Constructor to create
// a new node
Node(int d)
{
data = d;
next = null;
}
}
}
In this post, methods to insert a new node in linked list are discussed. A node can be added in three ways
1) At the front of the linked list
2) After a given node.
3) At the end of the linked list.
Add a node at the front: (4 steps process)
The new node is always added before the head of the given Linked List. And newly added node becomes the new head of the Linked List. For example, if the given Linked List is 10->15->20->25 and we add an item 5 at the front, then the Linked List becomes 5->10->15->20->25. Let us call the function that adds at the front of the list is push(). The push() must receive a pointer to the head pointer, because push must change the head pointer to point to the new node (See this)

Following are the 4 steps to add a node at the front.
Java
/* This function is in LinkedList class. Inserts a
new Node at front of the list. This method is
defined inside LinkedList class shown above */
public void push(int new_data)
{
/* 1 & 2: Allocate the Node &
Put in the data*/
Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
// 3. Make next of new Node as head
new_node.next = head;
// 4. Move the head to point to
// new Node
head = new_node;
}
Time complexity of push() is O(1) as it does a constant amount of work.
Add a node after a given node: (5 steps process)
We are given a pointer to a node, and the new node is inserted after the given node.
Java
/* This function is in LinkedList class.
Inserts a new node after the given
prev_node. This method is defined
inside LinkedList class shown above */
public void insertAfter(Node prev_node,
int new_data)
{
// 1. Check if the given Node is null
if (prev_node == null)
{
System.out.println(
"The given previous node cannot be null");
return;
}
/* 2. Allocate the Node &
3. Put in the data*/
Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
// 4. Make next of new Node as next
// of prev_node
new_node.next = prev_node.next;
// 5. make next of prev_node as new_node
prev_node.next = new_node;
}
Time complexity of insertAfter() is O(1) as it does a constant amount of work.
Add a node at the end: (6 steps process)
The new node is always added after the last node of the given Linked List. For example if the given Linked List is 5->10->15->20->25 and we add an item 30 at the end, then the Linked List becomes 5->10->15->20->25->30.
Since a Linked List is typically represented by the head of it, we have to traverse the list till the end and then change the next to last node to a new node.

Following are the 6 steps to add node at the end.
Java
/* Appends a new node at the end. This method is
defined inside LinkedList class shown above */
public void append(int new_data)
{
/* 1. Allocate the Node &
2. Put in the data
3. Set next as null */
Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
/* 4. If the Linked List is empty, then
make the new node as head */
if (head == null)
{
head = new Node(new_data);
return;
}
/* 4. This new node is going to be the
last node, so make next of it
as null */
new_node.next = null;
// 5. Else traverse till the last node
Node last = head;
while (last.next != null)
last = last.next;
// 6. Change the next of last node
last.next = new_node;
return;
}
Time complexity of append is O(n) where n is the number of nodes in the linked list. Since there is a loop from head to end, the function does O(n) work.
This method can also be optimized to work in O(1) by keeping an extra pointer to the tail of the linked list/
Following is a complete program that uses all of the above methods to create a linked list.
Java
// A complete working Java program to
// demonstrate all insertion methods
// on linked list
class LinkedList
{
// head of list
Node head;
// Linked list Node
class Node
{
int data;
Node next;
Node(int d)
{
data = d;
next = null;
}
}
// Inserts a new Node at front
// of the list.
public void push(int new_data)
{
/* 1 & 2: Allocate the Node &
Put in the data*/
Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
// 3. Make next of new Node as head
new_node.next = head;
// 4. Move the head to point to
// new Node
head = new_node;
}
// Inserts a new node after the
// given prev_node.
public void insertAfter(Node prev_node,
int new_data)
{
// 1. Check if the given Node is null
if (prev_node == null)
{
System.out.println(
"The given previous node cannot be null");
return;
}
/* 2 & 3: Allocate the Node &
Put in the data*/
Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
// 4. Make next of new Node as next
// of prev_node
new_node.next = prev_node.next;
// 5. make next of prev_node as
// new_node
prev_node.next = new_node;
}
/* Appends a new node at the end.
This method is defined inside
LinkedList class shown above */
public void append(int new_data)
{
/* 1. Allocate the Node &
2. Put in the data
3. Set next as null */
Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
/* 4. If the Linked List is empty,
then make the new node as head */
if (head == null)
{
head = new Node(new_data);
return;
}
/* 4. This new node is going to be
the last node, so make next
of it as null */
new_node.next = null;
// 5. Else traverse till the last node
Node last = head;
while (last.next != null)
last = last.next;
// 6. Change the next of last node
last.next = new_node;
return;
}
/* This function prints contents of
linked list starting from the
given node */
public void printList()
{
Node tnode = head;
while (tnode != null)
{
System.out.print(tnode.data + " ");
tnode = tnode.next;
}
}
// Driver code
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// Start with the empty list
LinkedList llist = new LinkedList();
// Insert 6. So linked list
// becomes 6->NUllist
llist.append(6);
// Insert 7 at the beginning.
// So linked list becomes
// 7->6->NUllist
llist.push(7);
// Insert 1 at the beginning.
// So linked list becomes
// 1->7->6->NUllist
llist.push(1);
// Insert 4 at the end.
// So linked list becomes
// 1->7->6->4->NUllist
llist.append(4);
// Insert 8, after 7. So linked
// list becomes
// 1->7->8->6->4->NUllist
llist.insertAfter(llist.head.next, 8);
System.out.println(
"Created Linked list is: ");
llist.printList();
}
}
// This code is contributed by Rajat Mishra
Output:
Created Linked list is: 1 7 8 6 4
Time complexity: O(N) where N is size of given linked list
Auxiliary space: O(1) constant space is being used
Please refer complete article on Linked List | Set 2 (Inserting a node) for more details!
Similar Reads
Java Tutorial Java is a high-level, object-oriented programming language used to build web apps, mobile applications, and enterprise software systems. It is known for its Write Once, Run Anywhere capability, which means code written in Java can run on any device that supports the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).Java s
10 min read
Java OOP(Object Oriented Programming) Concepts Java Object-Oriented Programming (OOPs) is a fundamental concept in Java that every developer must understand. It allows developers to structure code using classes and objects, making it more modular, reusable, and scalable.The core idea of OOPs is to bind data and the functions that operate on it,
13 min read
Java Interview Questions and Answers Java is one of the most popular programming languages in the world, known for its versatility, portability, and wide range of applications. Java is the most used language in top companies such as Uber, Airbnb, Google, Netflix, Instagram, Spotify, Amazon, and many more because of its features and per
15+ min read
Arrays in Java Arrays in Java are one of the most fundamental data structures that allow us to store multiple values of the same type in a single variable. They are useful for storing and managing collections of data. Arrays in Java are objects, which makes them work differently from arrays in C/C++ in terms of me
15+ min read
Binary Search Algorithm - Iterative and Recursive Implementation Binary Search Algorithm is a searching algorithm used in a sorted array by repeatedly dividing the search interval in half. The idea of binary search is to use the information that the array is sorted and reduce the time complexity to O(log N). Binary Search AlgorithmConditions to apply Binary Searc
15 min read
Collections in Java Any group of individual objects that are represented as a single unit is known as a Java Collection of Objects. In Java, a separate framework named the "Collection Framework" has been defined in JDK 1.2 which holds all the Java Collection Classes and Interface in it. In Java, the Collection interfac
15+ min read
Inheritance in Java Java Inheritance is a fundamental concept in OOP(Object-Oriented Programming). It is the mechanism in Java by which one class is allowed to inherit the features(fields and methods) of another class. In Java, Inheritance means creating new classes based on existing ones. A class that inherits from an
13 min read
Java Exception Handling Exception handling in Java allows developers to manage runtime errors effectively by using mechanisms like try-catch block, finally block, throwing Exceptions, Custom Exception handling, etc. An Exception is an unwanted or unexpected event that occurs during the execution of a program, i.e., at runt
10 min read
Java Programs - Java Programming Examples In this article, we will learn and prepare for Interviews using Java Programming Examples. From basic Java programs like the Fibonacci series, Prime numbers, Factorial numbers, and Palindrome numbers to advanced Java programs.Java is one of the most popular programming languages today because of its
8 min read
Java Interface An Interface in Java programming language is defined as an abstract type used to specify the behaviour of a class. An interface in Java is a blueprint of a behaviour. A Java interface contains static constants and abstract methods. Key Properties of Interface:The interface in Java is a mechanism to
12 min read