RIP Linked List

Abstract

Linked lists have long served as a valuable teaching tool in programming. However, the question arises: Are they truly practical for everyday program use? In most cases, it appears that array-based data structures offer distinct advantages, particularly in terms of memory efficiency and,more importantly, execution speed. While it's relatively straightforward to calculate the complexity of operations, gauging actual execution efficiency remains a challenge. This paper addresses this question by introducing a new benchmark. Our study compares various linked list implementations with several array-based alternatives. We also demonstrate the ease of incorporating memory caching for linked lists, enhancing their performance. Additionally, we introduce a new array-based data structure designed to excel in a wide range of operations.