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Singly Linked List and Its Basic Operations with Traversing Implementation

Last Updated : November 24, 2025

What is a Singly Linked List?

A singly linked list is a linear data structure made up of nodes where each node stores data and a pointer to the next node. The last node points to NULL, indicating the end of the list.

Singly Linked List Node Structure

Each node of a linked list can be created using the struct keyword in C.

struct node{
    // data field, can be of various types
    int data; 

    // pointer to the next node
    struct node* next; 
};

Basic Operations on a Singly Linked List

These are the most commonly performed operations on a singly linked list:

• Traversing the list
• Inserting a node
• Deleting a node
• Searching an element
• Counting total nodes

How Traversing Works in a Singly Linked List

To traverse a linked list, follow these steps:

• Start from the head node
• Move through each node using the next pointer
• Display or process the data of the current node
• Stop when the pointer becomes NULL

C Program to Traverse a Linked List and Count Nodes

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

struct node{
    int data; // data field
    struct node *next;
};

void traverse(struct node* head){
    struct node* current=head;  
    int count=0;

    printf("\n traversing the list\n");
    
    while(current!=NULL){ 
        count++; 
        printf("%d ",current->data);
        current=current->next;
    }

    printf("\ntotal no of nodes : %d\n",count);
}

struct node* createnode(int d){
    struct node* temp= (struct node*) malloc(sizeof(struct node));

    temp->data=d;
    temp->next=NULL;

    return temp;
}

int main()
{
    printf("\ncreating & traversing linked list\n");
    
    struct node* head=createnode(5);
    
    head->next=createnode(10);
    head->next->next=createnode(20);
    head->next->next->next=createnode(1);

    traverse(head);

    return 0;
}

Output

creating & traversing linked list

traversing the list
5 10 20 1
total no of nodes : 4

Time Complexity

O(n) — the list of size n is scanned once.

Space Complexity

O(1) — no extra memory is used apart from pointers.