Search an element in a Linked List (Iterative and Recursive)

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Discuss(30+)

Given a linked list and a key ‘X‘ in, the task is to check if X is present in the linked list or not.

Examples:

Input: 14->21->11->30->10, X = 14
Output: Yes
Explanation: 14 is present in the linked list.

Input: 6->21->17->30->10->8, X = 13
Output: No

Using O(N) Extra Space.

The Approach:

In this approach we use vector where we store all the nodes value in the vector and then check whether there is key present in vector then it will return 1.

C++

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
   
/* Link list node */
class Node {
public:
    int key;
    Node* next;
};
   
/* Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head
of a list and an int, push a new node on the front
of the list. */
void push(Node** head_ref, int new_key)
{
    /* allocate node */
    Node* new_node = new Node();
   
    /* put in the key */
    new_node->key = new_key;
   
    /* link the old list of the new node */
    new_node->next = (*head_ref);
   
    /* move the head to point to the new node */
    (*head_ref) = new_node;
}
 
int main() {
     /* Start with the empty list */
    Node* head = NULL;
    int x = 21;
   
    /* Use push() to construct below list
    14->21->11->30->10 */
    push(&head, 10);
    push(&head, 30);
    push(&head, 11);
    push(&head, 21);
    push(&head, 14);
    vector<int>v;
    //we donot use given data 
    Node* temp=head;
    while(temp!=NULL){
     v.push_back(temp->key);
     temp=temp->next;
    }
    // we use iterator to find.
    vector<int>::iterator it;
    find(v.begin(),v.end(),x);
    if(it==v.end()){
      cout<<"NO"<<endl;
    }else{
     cout<<"YES"<<endl;
    }
    return 0;
}

Java

import java.util.*;
 
class Node {
  int key;
  Node next;
 
  Node(int key) {
    this.key = key;
    this.next = null;
  }
}
 
class Main 
{
   
  // Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head 
  // of a list and an int, push a new node on the front of the list.
  static void push(Node[] head_ref, int new_key) {
    Node new_node = new Node(new_key);
    new_node.next = head_ref[0];
    head_ref[0] = new_node;
  }
 
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Node[] head = new Node[1];
    int x = 21;
 
    // Use push() to construct below list 14->21->11->30->10
    push(head, 10);
    push(head, 30);
    push(head, 11);
    push(head, 21);
    push(head, 14);
 
    // Create a vector of integers from the linked list and search for the value x in the vector using an iterator.
    Vector<Integer> v = new Vector<Integer>();
    Node temp = head[0];
    while (temp != null) {
      v.add(temp.key);
      temp = temp.next;
    }
 
    int it = v.indexOf(x);
    if (it == -1) {
      System.out.println("NO");
    } else {
      System.out.println("YES");
    }
  }
}

Python3

# Class definition for Node
class Node:
    # Initialize the node with a key
    def __init__(self, key):
        self.key = key
        self.next = None
   
# Class definition for Linked List
class LinkedList:
    # Initialize the linked list with a head node
    def __init__(self):
        self.head = None
   
    # Add a new node with key "new_key" at the beginning of the linked list
    def push(self, new_key):
        new_node = Node(new_key)
        new_node.next = self.head
        self.head = new_node
   
# Create a linked list object
llist = LinkedList()
 
# Add new nodes to the linked list
llist.push(10)
llist.push(30)
llist.push(11)
llist.push(21)
llist.push(14)
   
# Key to search for in the linked list
x = 21
 
# Create a temp variable to traverse the linked list
temp = llist.head
 
# List to store the keys in the linked list
v = []
 
# Traverse the linked list and store the keys in the list "v"
while(temp):
    v.append(temp.key)
    temp = temp.next
   
# Check if "x" is in the list "v"
if x in v:
    print("YES")
else:
    print("NO")

C#

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
 
/* Link list node */
class Node {
    public int key;
    public Node next;
};
 
class Program {
    /* Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head
    of a list and an int, push a new node on the front
    of the list. */
    static void push(ref Node head_ref, int new_key)
    {
        /* allocate node */
        Node new_node = new Node();
 
        /* put in the key */
        new_node.key = new_key;
 
        /* link the old list of the new node */
        new_node.next = head_ref;
 
        /* move the head to point to the new node */
        head_ref = new_node;
    }
 
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        /* Start with the empty list */
        Node head = null;
        int x = 21;
 
        /* Use push() to construct below list
        14->21->11->30->10 */
        push(ref head, 10);
        push(ref head, 30);
        push(ref head, 11);
        push(ref head, 21);
        push(ref head, 14);
 
        List<int> v = new List<int>();
        Node temp = head;
        while (temp != null) {
            v.Add(temp.key);
            temp = temp.next;
        }
 
        /* Find whether x is present in the list or not */
        if (v.Contains(x)) {
            Console.WriteLine("YES");
        }
        else {
            Console.WriteLine("NO");
        }
    }
}
// This code is contributed by sarojmcy2e

Javascript

// Class definition for Node
class Node {
// Initialize the node with a key
constructor(key) {
this.key = key;
this.next = null;
}
}
 
// Class definition for Linked List
class LinkedList {
// Initialize the linked list with a head node
constructor() {
this.head = null;
}
 
// Add a new node with key "new_key" at the beginning of the linked list
push(new_key) {
let new_node = new Node(new_key);
new_node.next = this.head;
this.head = new_node;
}
}
 
// Create a linked list object
let llist = new LinkedList();
 
// Add new nodes to the linked list
llist.push(10);
llist.push(30);
llist.push(11);
llist.push(21);
llist.push(14);
 
// Key to search for in the linked list
let x = 22;
 
// Create a temp variable to traverse the linked list
let temp = llist.head;
 
// Array to store the keys in the linked list
let v = [];
 
// Traverse the linked list and store the keys in the array "v"
while (temp) {
v.push(temp.key);
temp = temp.next;
}
 
// Check if "x" is in the array "v"
if (v.includes(x)) {
console.log("YES");
} else {
console.log("NO");
}

Output

YES

Time Complexity: O(N), to traverse linked list.
Auxiliary Space: O(N),to store the values.

Search an element in a Linked List (Iterative Approach):

Follow the below steps to solve the problem:

Initialize a node pointer, current = head.
Do following while current is not NULL
- If the current value (i.e., current->key) is equal to the key being searched return true.
- Otherwise, move to the next node (current = current->next).
If the key is not found, return false

Below is the implementation of the above approach.

C++

// Iterative C++ program to search
// an element in linked list
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
/* Link list node */
class Node {
public:
    int key;
    Node* next;
};
 
/* Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head
of a list and an int, push a new node on the front
of the list. */
void push(Node** head_ref, int new_key)
{
    /* allocate node */
    Node* new_node = new Node();
 
    /* put in the key */
    new_node->key = new_key;
 
    /* link the old list of the new node */
    new_node->next = (*head_ref);
 
    /* move the head to point to the new node */
    (*head_ref) = new_node;
}
 
/* Checks whether the value x is present in linked list */
bool search(Node* head, int x)
{
    Node* current = head; // Initialize current
    while (current != NULL) {
        if (current->key == x)
            return true;
        current = current->next;
    }
    return false;
}
 
/* Driver code*/
int main()
{
    /* Start with the empty list */
    Node* head = NULL;
    int x = 21;
 
    /* Use push() to construct below list
    14->21->11->30->10 */
    push(&head, 10);
    push(&head, 30);
    push(&head, 11);
    push(&head, 21);
    push(&head, 14);
 
      // Function call
    search(head, x) ? cout << "Yes" : cout << "No";
    return 0;
}
 
// This is code is contributed by rathbhupendra

C

// Iterative C program to search an element
// in the linked list
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
 
/* Link list node */
struct Node {
    int key;
    struct Node* next;
};
 
/* Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head
  of a list and an int, push a new node on the front
  of the list. */
void push(struct Node** head_ref, int new_key)
{
    /* allocate node */
    struct Node* new_node
        = (struct Node*)malloc(sizeof(struct Node));
 
    /* put in the key  */
    new_node->key = new_key;
 
    /* link the old list of the new node */
    new_node->next = (*head_ref);
 
    /* move the head to point to the new node */
    (*head_ref) = new_node;
}
 
/* Checks whether the value x is present in linked list */
bool search(struct Node* head, int x)
{
    struct Node* current = head; // Initialize current
    while (current != NULL) {
        if (current->key == x)
            return true;
        current = current->next;
    }
    return false;
}
 
/* Driver code*/
int main()
{
    /* Start with the empty list */
    struct Node* head = NULL;
    int x = 21;
 
    /* Use push() to construct below list
     14->21->11->30->10  */
    push(&head, 10);
    push(&head, 30);
    push(&head, 11);
    push(&head, 21);
    push(&head, 14);
     
      // Function call
    search(head, x) ? printf("Yes") : printf("No");
    return 0;
}

Java

// Iterative Java program to search an element
// in linked list
 
// Linked list class
class LinkedList {
    Node head; // Head of list
 
    // Inserts a new node at the front of the list
    public void push(int new_data)
    {
        // Allocate new node and putting data
        Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
 
        // Make next of new node as head
        new_node.next = head;
 
        // Move the head to point to new Node
        head = new_node;
    }
 
    // Checks whether the value x is present in linked list
    public boolean search(Node head, int x)
    {
        Node current = head; // Initialize current
        while (current != null) {
            if (current.data == x)
                return true; // data found
            current = current.next;
        }
        return false; // data not found
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void main(String args[])
    {
 
        // Start with the empty list
        LinkedList llist = new LinkedList();
        int x = 21;
        /*Use push() to construct below list
        14->21->11->30->10  */
        llist.push(10);
        llist.push(30);
        llist.push(11);
        llist.push(21);
        llist.push(14);
 
          // Function call
        if (llist.search(llist.head, x))
            System.out.println("Yes");
        else
            System.out.println("No");
    }
}
 
// Node class
class Node {
    int data;
    Node next;
    Node(int d)
    {
        data = d;
        next = null;
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Pratik Agarwal

Python3

# Iterative Python3 program to search an element
# in linked list
 
# Node class
 
 
class Node:
 
    # Function to initialise the node object
    def __init__(self, data):
        self.data = data  # Assign data
        self.next = None  # Initialize next as null
 
# Linked List class
 
 
class LinkedList:
    def __init__(self):
        self.head = None  # Initialize head as None
 
    # This function insert a new node at the
    # beginning of the linked list
    def push(self, new_data):
 
        # Create a new Node
        new_node = Node(new_data)
 
        # 3. Make next of new Node as head
        new_node.next = self.head
 
        # 4. Move the head to point to new Node
        self.head = new_node
 
    # This Function checks whether the value
    # x present in the linked list
    def search(self, x):
 
        # Initialize current to head
        current = self.head
 
        # loop till current not equal to None
        while current != None:
            if current.data == x:
                return True  # data found
 
            current = current.next
 
        return False  # Data Not found
 
 
# Driver code
if __name__ == '__main__':
 
    # Start with the empty list
    llist = LinkedList()
    x = 21
     
    ''' Use push() to construct below list
        14->21->11->30->10 '''
    llist.push(10)
    llist.push(30)
    llist.push(11)
    llist.push(21)
    llist.push(14)
 
       # Function call
    if llist.search(x):
        print("Yes")
    else:
        print("No")
 
# This code is contributed by Ravi Shankar

C#

// Iterative C# program to search an element
// in linked list
using System;
 
// Node class
public class Node {
    public int data;
    public Node next;
    public Node(int d)
    {
        data = d;
        next = null;
    }
}
 
// Linked list class
public class LinkedList {
    Node head; // Head of list
 
    // Inserts a new node at the front of the list
    public void push(int new_data)
    {
        // Allocate new node and putting data
        Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
 
        // Make next of new node as head
        new_node.next = head;
 
        // Move the head to point to new Node
        head = new_node;
    }
 
    // Checks whether the value x is present in linked list
    public bool search(Node head, int x)
    {
        Node current = head; // Initialize current
        while (current != null) {
            if (current.data == x)
                return true; // data found
            current = current.next;
        }
        return false; // data not found
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void Main(String[] args)
    {
 
        // Start with the empty list
        LinkedList llist = new LinkedList();
  
        /*Use push() to construct below list
        14->21->11->30->10 */
        llist.push(10);
        llist.push(30);
        llist.push(11);
        llist.push(21);
        llist.push(14);
         
        int x = 21;
        // Function call
        if (llist.search(llist.head, x))
            Console.WriteLine("Yes");
        else
            Console.WriteLine("No");
    }
}
 
// This code contributed by Rajput-Ji

Javascript

// Iterative javascript program 
// to search an element
// in linked list
 
//Node class
class Node {
    constructor(d) {
        this.data = d;
        this.next = null;
    }
}
 
// Linked list class
 
    var head; // Head of list
 
    // Inserts a new node at the front of the list
    function push(new_data)
    {
        // Allocate new node and putting data
        var new_node = new Node(new_data);
 
        // Make next of new node as head
        new_node.next = head;
 
        // Move the head to point to new Node
        head = new_node;
    }
 
    // Checks whether the value 
    // x is present in linked list
    function search( head , x) 
    {
        var current = head; // Initialize current
        while (current != null) {
            if (current.data == x)
                return true; // data found
            current = current.next;
        }
        return false; // data not found
    }
 
    // Driver function to test
    // the above functions
     
 
        // Start with the empty list
        /*
          Use push() to construct below 
          list 14->21->11->30->10
         */
        push(10);
        push(30);
        push(11);
        push(21);
        push(14);
        var x = 21;
        if (search(head, x))
            document.write("Yes");
        else
            document.write("No");
 
// This code contributed by aashish1995

Output

Yes

Time Complexity: O(N), Where N is the number of nodes in the LinkedList
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

Search an element in a Linked List (Recursive Approach):

Follow the below steps to solve the problem:

If the head is NULL, return false.
If the head’s key is the same as X, return true;
Else recursively search in the next node.

Below is the recursive implementation of the above algorithm.

C++

// Recursive C++ program to search
// an element in linked list
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
/* Link list node */
struct Node {
    int key;
    struct Node* next;
};
 
/* Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head
of a list and an int, push a new node on the front
of the list. */
void push(struct Node** head_ref, int new_key)
{
    /* allocate node */
    struct Node* new_node
        = (struct Node*)malloc(sizeof(struct Node));
 
    /* put in the key */
    new_node->key = new_key;
 
    /* link the old list of the new node */
    new_node->next = (*head_ref);
 
    /* move the head to point to the new node */
    (*head_ref) = new_node;
}
 
/* Checks whether the value x is present in linked list */
bool search(struct Node* head, int x)
{
    // Base case
    if (head == NULL)
        return false;
 
    // If key is present in current node, return true
    if (head->key == x)
        return true;
 
    // Recur for remaining list
    return search(head->next, x);
}
 
/* Driver code*/
int main()
{
    /* Start with the empty list */
    struct Node* head = NULL;
    int x = 21;
 
    /* Use push() to construct below list
    14->21->11->30->10 */
    push(&head, 10);
    push(&head, 30);
    push(&head, 11);
    push(&head, 21);
    push(&head, 14);
 
      // Function call
    search(head, x) ? cout << "Yes" : cout << "No";
    return 0;
}
 
// This code is contributed by SHUBHAMSINGH10

C

// Recursive C program to search an element in linked list
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
 
/* Link list node */
struct Node {
    int key;
    struct Node* next;
};
 
/* Given a reference (pointer to pointer) to the head
  of a list and an int, push a new node on the front
  of the list. */
void push(struct Node** head_ref, int new_key)
{
    /* allocate node */
    struct Node* new_node
        = (struct Node*)malloc(sizeof(struct Node));
 
    /* put in the key  */
    new_node->key = new_key;
 
    /* link the old list of the new node */
    new_node->next = (*head_ref);
 
    /* move the head to point to the new node */
    (*head_ref) = new_node;
}
 
/* Checks whether the value x is present in linked list */
bool search(struct Node* head, int x)
{
    // Base case
    if (head == NULL)
        return false;
 
    // If key is present in current node, return true
    if (head->key == x)
        return true;
 
    // Recur for remaining list
    return search(head->next, x);
}
 
/* Driver code*/
int main()
{
    /* Start with the empty list */
    struct Node* head = NULL;
    int x = 21;
 
    /* Use push() to construct below list
     14->21->11->30->10  */
    push(&head, 10);
    push(&head, 30);
    push(&head, 11);
    push(&head, 21);
    push(&head, 14);
 
      // Function call
    search(head, x) ? printf("Yes") : printf("No");
    return 0;
}

Java

// Recursive Java program to search an element
// in the linked list
 
// Linked list class
class LinkedList {
    Node head; // Head of list
 
    // Inserts a new node at the front of the list
    public void push(int new_data)
    {
        // Allocate new node and putting data
        Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
 
        // Make next of new node as head
        new_node.next = head;
 
        // Move the head to point to new Node
        head = new_node;
    }
 
    // Checks whether the value x is present
    // in linked list
    public boolean search(Node head, int x)
    {
        // Base case
        if (head == null)
            return false;
 
        // If key is present in current node,
        // return true
        if (head.data == x)
            return true;
 
        // Recur for remaining list
        return search(head.next, x);
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void main(String args[])
    {
        // Start with the empty list
        LinkedList llist = new LinkedList();
 
        /* Use push() to construct below list
           14->21->11->30->10  */
        llist.push(10);
        llist.push(30);
        llist.push(11);
        llist.push(21);
        llist.push(14);
        int x = 21;
          // Function call
        if (llist.search(llist.head, x))
            System.out.println("Yes");
        else
            System.out.println("No");
    }
}
 
// Node class
class Node {
    int data;
    Node next;
    Node(int d)
    {
        data = d;
        next = null;
    }
}
// This code is contributed by Pratik Agarwal

Python3

# Recursive Python program to
# search an element in linked list
 
# Node class
 
 
class Node:
 
    # Function to initialise
    # the node object
    def __init__(self, data):
        self.data = data  # Assign data
        self.next = None  # Initialize next as null
 
 
class LinkedList:
 
    def __init__(self):
        self.head = None  # Initialize head as None
 
    # This function insert a new node at
    # the beginning of the linked list
    def push(self, new_data):
 
        # Create a new Node
        new_node = Node(new_data)
 
        # Make next of new Node as head
        new_node.next = self.head
 
        # Move the head to
        # point to new Node
        self.head = new_node
 
    # Checks whether the value key
    # is present in linked list
 
    def search(self, li, key):
 
        # Base case
        if(not li):
            return False
 
        # If key is present in
        # current node, return true
        if(li.data == key):
            return True
 
        # Recur for remaining list
        return self.search(li.next, key)
 
 
# Driver Code
if __name__ == '__main__':
 
    li = LinkedList()
 
    li.push(10)
    li.push(30)
    li.push(11)
    li.push(21)
    li.push(14)
 
    x = 21
 
    # Function call
    if li.search(li.head, x):
        print("Yes")
    else:
        print("No")
 
# This code is contributed
# by Manoj Sharma

C#

// Recursive C# program to search
// an element in linked list
using System;
 
// Node class
public class Node {
    public int data;
    public Node next;
    public Node(int d)
    {
        data = d;
        next = null;
    }
}
 
// Linked list class
public class LinkedList {
    Node head; // Head of list
 
    // Inserts a new node at the front of the list
    public void push(int new_data)
    {
        // Allocate new node and putting data
        Node new_node = new Node(new_data);
 
        // Make next of new node as head
        new_node.next = head;
 
        // Move the head to point to new Node
        head = new_node;
    }
 
    // Checks whether the value x is present
    // in linked list
    public bool search(Node head, int x)
    {
        // Base case
        if (head == null)
            return false;
 
        // If key is present in current node,
        // return true
        if (head.data == x)
            return true;
 
        // Recur for remaining list
        return search(head.next, x);
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Start with the empty list
        LinkedList llist = new LinkedList();
 
        /* Use push() to construct below list
        14->21->11->30->10 */
        llist.push(10);
        llist.push(30);
        llist.push(11);
        llist.push(21);
        llist.push(14);
        int x = 21;
        // Function call
        if (llist.search(llist.head, x))
            Console.WriteLine("Yes");
        else
            Console.WriteLine("No");
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by PrinciRaj1992

Javascript

// Recursive javascript program to search an element
// in linked list
 
// Node class
 class Node {
        constructor(val) {
            this.data = val;
            this.next = null;
        }
    }
  
// Linked list class
var head; // Head of list
 
    // Inserts a new node at the front of the list
     function push(new_data) {
        // Allocate new node and putting data
var new_node = new Node(new_data);
 
        // Make next of new node as head
        new_node.next = head;
 
        // Move the head to point to new Node
        head = new_node;
    }
 
    // Checks whether the value x is present
    // in linked list
     function search(head , x) {
        // Base case
        if (head == null)
            return false;
 
        // If key is present in current node,
        // return true
        if (head.data == x)
            return true;
 
        // Recur for remaining list
        return search(head.next, x);
    }
 
    // Driver function to test the above functions
     
        // Start with the empty list
         
 
        /*
         * Use push() to construct below list 14->21->11->30->10
         */
        push(10);
        push(30);
        push(11);
        push(21);
        push(14);
        var x = 21;
        if (search(head, 21))
            document.write("Yes");
        else
            document.write("No");
 
// This code contributed by gauravrajput1

Output

Yes

Time Complexity: O(N)
Auxiliary Space: O(N), Stack space used by recursive calls

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Last Updated : 10 Apr, 2023