What are real life examples of Double Linked List?

A real-life example of a doubly linked list is a web browser where each website you visit (node) can be navigated forward or backward to using the browser’s forward and back buttons. This allows for easy movement in both directions, similar to traversing a doubly linked list in a computer program. Other examples include video streaming platforms, board games, and audio books.

What is Doubly Linked List?

A doubly linked list is a type of data structure used in computer science. It consists of nodes, where each node contains a data field and two ‘links’ that point to the next and previous node in the sequence.

Real Life Examples of Doubly Linked List:

1. Web Browsing

Web browsing is another example. Each website you visit can be seen as a node. The browser’s forward and back buttons allow you to navigate through the websites (nodes) you’ve visited, much like traversing through a doubly linked list.

2. Social Media Apps

In social media apps like Instagram or Facebook, you can scroll forwards and backwards through posts or images. Each post or image can be considered a node, with the ‘next’ and ‘previous’ links allowing you to navigate through the content.

3. Video Streaming Platforms

Consider a video streaming platform like Netflix. When you’re watching a series, each episode can be considered a node. You can easily navigate to the next episode (next node) or the previous episode (previous node), similar to traversing a doubly linked list.

4. Board Games

In some board games like Monopoly, each square on the board can be seen as a node. Players can move forward and backward on the board, much like traversing a doubly linked list.

5. Audio Books

In an audio book, each chapter can be considered a node. The ‘next’ and ‘previous’ buttons allow you to navigate through the chapters, much like traversing a doubly linked list.

Why Use Doubly Linked Lists?

Doubly linked lists are particularly useful in computer programming when one needs to traverse a list in both directions. For example, in a music player application, a doubly linked list could be used to hold the playlist. The ‘next’ links could be used to skip to the next song, while the ‘previous’ links could be used to go back to the last song.

Here’s why to use doubly linked lists:

1. Two-Way Traversal: You can move forwards and backwards through the items, which is super useful if you need to look at things in both directions.
2. Easy to Reverse: If you ever need to flip the order of the items then doubly linked list will be very useful.
3. Quick Additions and Removals: Adding or taking out items is faster because you don’t have to go through the whole list to find where to do it.
4. Flexible Size: The list can grow or shrink as needed, so it’s very Flexible .
5. Undo/Redo Magic: They’re great for features like undo and redo in programs because you can step forwards and backwards through your actions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, doubly linked lists are a fundamental concept in computer science that find their parallels in many real-world systems and processes we interact with daily. From a books to web browsing, video streaming platforms, board games, and audio books, these examples illustrate how the structure of a doubly linked list is embedded in our everyday lives.