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Linked lists are a data structure choice over arrays when you need dynamic memory allocation, efficient insertions and deletions in the middle of the data structure, and you are willing to trade off constant-time random access. Linked lists consist of nodes where each node stores a value and a reference to the next node, allowing for efficient insertions and deletions as you can simply update pointers. This makes them well-suited for situations where the size of the data structure is unknown in advance or frequently changes, such as dynamic data structures, certain types of queues, or when memory is a concern. In contrast, arrays offer constant-time random access but require contiguous memory allocation, making them less flexible for dynamic resizing and insertions/deletions, which can be costly in terms of time and memory reallocation. The choice between linked lists and arrays depends on the specific requirements and trade-offs of your application.
To build and use linked lists in C, you can create a struct to represent each node in the list. The struct should contain a data element and a pointer to the next node in the list.
struct node{
int data;
struct node* next;
}To create a new node and add it to the list, you can use the malloc function to allocate memory for the new node, assign the data element, and set the next pointer to NULL.