how to create a linked list inside a linked list in c

Question

I want to create a main list and each of the main list element has another list.

here is what i did

    typedef struct smallList
    {   char data;
        struct smallList *next;  

     } small;

    typedef struct bigList
    {
        int count;
        char data;
        struct bigList *next;
        struct smallList *head;
     } big;

but how do I access the small list data from the big list and add stuff to the small list. any help much appreciated. thanks....

Hey dawg, I heard you liked linked lists, so we created a linked list inside a linked list so you can enjoy a linked list while you iterate though another linked list. — user405725
– user405725, Commented Feb 28, 2013 at 19:31
This sounds like the question from yesterday (stackoverflow.com/questions/15094665/…) where a poster needed to make a linked lists where each item held another linked list for a class assignment. That didn't get an answer posted at the time. — StarPilot
– StarPilot, Commented Feb 28, 2013 at 19:37

Bill Lynch · Accepted Answer · 2013-02-28 19:34:53Z

2

So, if we assume that this structure is already populated, we could do:

struct smallList *smallElem = NULL;
struct bigList *bigElem = NULL;

for (bigElem = your_big_list(); bigElem != NULL; bigElem = bigElem->next) {
    // Do something with bigElem.

    for (smallElem = bigElem->head; smallElem != NULL; smallElem = smallElem->next) {
        // Do something with the smallElem.
        // Note that we can still reference bigElem here as well.
    }
}

answered Feb 28, 2013 at 19:34

Bill Lynch

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2 Comments

user1476263 Over a year ago

thank you for the help. does "your_big_list()" returns the address of the first element(or any element) in big List.

Bill Lynch Over a year ago

@user1476263: I would likely use this with the first element of the list, but it will iterate starting at any given element through the end of the list.

utdemir · Accepted Answer · 2013-02-28 19:35:07Z

1

If p points to a bigList:

bigList -> head is the small list that bigList points.
(bigList -> head).data is the character the smallList contains.
(bigList -> next -> head) is second smallList in bigList.
(bigList > head -> next) is the second element in bigList's first smallList.

After getting a pointer to the structure you want to modify, everything else is the same.

answered Feb 28, 2013 at 19:35

utdemir

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