Monday 29 February 2016

Basic network troubleshooting Adapter resources

Basic network troubleshooting

Because of the variety of network hardware, network configurations, operating systems, and setups, not all of the below information may apply to your network or operating system.
Note: We cannot assist you with network problems due to an unknown password or unknown ISP settings, as we have no method of verifying or determining this information.

Adapter resources

Device Manager network adaptersVerify that the network adapter is properly installed and detected by the computer with no conflicts. In Microsoft Windows, open the Device Manager and verify there are no errors. "Network adapters" should be present for each network adapter installed in the computer, similar to the example on the right.
If conflicts exist or the network adapter is being detected as an "Other device", the network card has likely not been properly installed in the computer. Try letting Windows re-detect and install the network card by removing the network adapter and any other conflict devices from Device Manager and then rebooting the computer. If Windows re-detects the card but does not find the drivers, download the latest network card drivers from the computer manufacturer's website or the network card manufacturer's website.

Verify connections

Wired Network
Ethernet LAN portIf this is a wired network, verify that the network cable is properly connected and make sure the LEDs next to the network jack are properly illuminated. For example, a network card with a solid green LED or light usually indicates that the card is either connected or receiving a signal. If the green light is flashing, this is an indication of data being sent or received. The picture to the right is an example of a LAN port with two LED indicators next to the RJ-45 port. With this port, one LED will light up if connected properly and the other will flash when transmitting data.
If there are no lights or the lights are orange or red, the card may be bad, not connected properly, or may not be receiving a signal from the network. If you are on a small or local network and have the capability of checking a hubswitch, or router, verify that the cables are properly connected and that it has power. If after checking the connections, the LED indicators appear bad, the network adapter, port, or cable may be defective.
Wireless Network
Wi-Fi button on laptopIf you're using a laptop with a wireless network, look for the laptop's Wi-Fi button and make sure it is turned on. Many laptops have a Wi-Fi button that allows the wireless network to be turned on and off. The Wi-Fi button is often located just above the keyboard or on the front edge of the laptop, but it also may be integrated with a F key as well. The pictures to the right are examples of a Wi-Fi button and Wi-Fi indicator on a F key that are enabled.
If the button is turned on, make sure you're using the correct Wi-Fi hotspot by right-clicking on the Network icon in the Windows Notification Area and clicking "Connect to a network". Usually, the network with the strongest connection (the most bars) will be your wireless router.
Finally, when connecting to most wireless networks, you need to enter the proper SSID password to connect to the network. If the incorrect password has been entered, you will not be able to access the network.

Adapter functionality

Verify that the network card is capable of pinging itself by using the ping command. Windows users can ping the computer from a Windows command line. Unix and Linux users can ping from the shell.
To ping the card or the localhost, type either of the following commands:
ping 127.0.0.1
or
ping localhost
Executing either of the above commands should get replies from the network card. If you receive an error, or the transmission fails, the network card is not physically installed into the computer correctly, has the incorrect or outdated drivers installed, or is defective.
Make sure the network card is physically installed in the computer correctly by removing it and re-inserting it again. Check the network card manufacturer's website for the latest drivers and install those drivers. If the network card is defective, it needs to be replaced.

Connect to the router

If all of the above steps have been checked, and your network has a router, make sure the computer can connect to the router by performing the below commands.
Determine the routers address
Using the ipconfig command (or ifconfig command for Linux), determine the router's address by looking at the Gateway address. Below are the steps for Microsoft Windows users. Linux users can substitute ipconfig for ifconfig.
  1. Open the Windows command line.
  2. At the command prompt, type ipconfig and press Enter. You should see output similar to the example below.
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : computerhope.com.
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.103
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
The Default Gateway is the address of your router. Most home routers have a gateway address that starts with 192.168, like the address shown above. Assuming your gateway address is 192.168.1.1, attempt to ping the router to see if it can send and receive information by running the below command.
ping 192.168.1.1
If you get replies back from the router, the connection between your router and computer are good, and you can skip to the next step.
If you do not receive any replies back from the router, either the router is not set up properly, or your connection between the router and the computer is not correct. Reset your router to make sure it is not a problem with your router by following the steps below.
  1. Turn off the power to the computer and leave it off.
  2. Unplug the power to your router and cable modem or DSL modem.
  3. Leave the power cables disconnected for 10-15 seconds and then plug in your modem and then your router again.
  4. Finally, turn on your computer again and repeat this step to see if you can ping your router.
If you have a wireless network and followed the above steps, but cannot ping the router, turn the computer off again and connect the computer to the router using a network cable instead of wirelessly. If a wire also does not work, contact the manufacturer of the router for additional support or replacement.

Firewall

If your computer network utilizes a firewall, make sure all required ports are open, especially port 80, which is the HTTP port. If possible, disable the firewall software or disconnect the computer from the firewall to make sure it is not causing the network problems.

The Internet is not working

If you're able to ping the router, but are still unable to connect to the Internet, either your router is improperly configured, or the ISP is having issues.
Note: Some ISPs, such as Comcast, require special software to be installed. Make sure any software included with your Modem or other hardware has been installed on at least one computer if you are setting up a new Internet connection.
If your Internet has been working but recently stopped working, give it a few minutes to make sure it is not a temporary outage. If after waiting a few minutes, you still have problems, and you have not already disconnected the power to your router and modem, follow the steps below.
  1. Turn off the power to the computer and leave it off.
  2. Unplug the power cable to your router and cable modem or DSL modem.
  3. Leave the power cables disconnected for 10-15 seconds, plug in your modem again, and then plug in your router again.
  4. Finally, turn on your computer and see if you can ping your router.
If after following the above steps, the Internet is still not working, open the Windows command line and run the below command.
ping google.com
Running the above command should get a reply from Google. If you get a reply, this is an indication that the Internet is working, but you may be encountering a problem with the Internet browser you are using to browse the Internet. Try an alternative browser, such as Firefox or Chrome.
If you're getting no reply from Google, your router or modem is not reaching the Internet. If you have a router, make sure your router has DHCP enabled and that theWAN or Gateway address is the proper ISP address.
Finally, if trying the above steps has not helped, contact your ISP to make sure there is no problem on their end and to assist you further with any special configurations.

Additional troubleshooting

Another method of determining network issues is to use the tracert command if you are a Windows user or the traceroute command if you are a Linux or Unix variant user. This command gives you an overview of each of the devices (routers) a packet travels (hops) over a network and can give you an idea of where a problem exists in your network or outside of your network.
To use this command, you must be at the command line and type one of the below commands depending on your operating system.
tracert google.com
or
traceroute google.com
If successful, you should begin to see each hop between the computer and network devices. When the connection fails, determine what device is causing the issue by reviewing the traceroute listing.

Help with ping, winipcfg, and other network commands MS dOS commands

Help with ping, winipcfg, and other network commands

Below is a listing of the various network related commands used in MS-DOS, Windows, Linux, Unix, and other operating systems. Each command includes additional information to what the command does, the command's syntax, and miscellaneous information.
Note: If you are not the root or admin of a computer, these commands may not work.

Arp

Display or manipulate the ARP information on a network device or computer.
  • See the arp command page for further help and information.

Finger

The finger command available in Unix and Linux variants allows a user to find sometimes personal information about a user. This information can include the last time the user logged in, when they read their e-mail, etc. If the user creates a .PLAN or other related file the user can also display additional information.
  • See the Unix and Linux finger command page for further information and help.

Hostname

The hostname command displays the host name of the Windows XP computer currently logged into.

Ipconfig

Ipconfig is an MS-DOS utility that can be used from MS-DOS and an MS-DOS shell to display the network settings currently assigned and given by a network. This command can be utilized to verify a network connection as well as to verify your network settings.
Windows 2000 users should use this command to determine network information.

Pathping

Pathping is an MS-DOS utility available for Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP users. This utility enables a user to find network latency and network loss.

Ping

Ping is one of the most commonly used network commands that allows you to ping another network IP address. Pinging another address helps determine if the network card can communicate within the local network or outside network.
Windows command line ping command

Nbtstat

The nbtstat MS-DOS utility that displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT.
  • See the nbtstat command page for further help on this MS-DOS and Windows command.

Net

The net command is available in MS-DOS and Windows and is used to set, view, and determine network settings.
  • See the net command page for further information on this command.

Netstat

The netstat command is used to display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.

Nslookup

The nslookup MS-DOS utility that enables a user to do a reverse lookup on an IP address of a domain or host on a network.

Route

The route MS-DOS utility enables computers to view and modify the computer's route table.
  • See the route command page for further information and help with this command.

Tracert and traceroute

The tracert command in MS-DOS and Windows (known as traceroute in Unix-like operating systems) is a useful tool for diagnosing network issues. It allows you to view a listing of how a network packet travels through the network and where it may fail or slow down. Using this information you can determine the computer, router, switch or other network device possibly causing your network issues.

Whois

The whois command available in Unix and Linux variants helps allow a user to identify a domain name. This command provides information about a domain name much like the WHOIS on network solutions. In some cases the domain information will be provided from Network Solutions.

Winipcfg

The winipcfg command available in Windows allows a user to display network and network adapter information. Here, a user can find such information as an IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, etc.

Saturday 6 February 2016

Introduction to Data Structures

Introduction to Data Structures
Data Structure is a way of collecting and organising data in such a way that we can perform operations on these data in an effective way. Data Structures is about rendering data elements in terms of some relationship, for better organization and storage. For example, we have data player's name "Virat" and age 26. Here "Virat" is of String data type and 26 is of integer data type.
We can organize this data as a record like Player record. Now we can collect and store player's records in a file or database as a data structure. For example: "Dhoni" 30, "Gambhir" 31, "Sehwag" 33
In simple language, Data Structures are structures programmed to store ordered data, so that various operations can be performed on it easily.

Basic types of Data Structures
As we discussed above, anything that can store data can be called as a data strucure, hence Integer, Float, Boolean, Char etc, all are data structures. They are known as Primitive Data Structures.
Then we also have some complex Data Structures, which are used to store large and connected data. Some example of Abstract Data Structure are :
·         Linked List
·         Tree
·         Graph
·         Stack, Queue etc.
All these data structures allow us to perform different operations on data. We select these data structures based on which type of operation is required. We will look into these data structures in more details in our later lessons.
introduction to Data Structures


What is Algorithm ?
An algorithm is a finite set of instructions or logic, written in order, to accomplish a certain predefined task. Algorithm is not the complete code or program, it is just the core logic(solution) of a problem, which can be expressed either as an informal high level description as pseudocode or using a flowchart.
An algorithm is said to be efficient and fast, if it takes less time to execute and consumes less memory space. The performance of an algorithm is measured on the basis of following properties :
1.    Time Complexity
2.    Space Complexity

Space Complexity
Its the amount of memory space required by the algorithm, during the course of its execution. Space complexity must be taken seriously for multi-user systems and in situations where limited memory is available.
An algorithm generally requires space for following components :
·         Instruction Space : Its the space required to store the executable version of the program. This space is fixed, but varies depending upon the number of lines of code in the program.
·         Data Space : Its the space required to store all the constants and variables value.
·         Environment Space : Its the space required to store the environment information needed to resume the suspended function.

Time Complexity
Time Complexity is a way to represent the amount of time needed by the program to run to completion. We will study this in details in our section.

NOTE: Before going deep into data structure, you should have a good knowledge of programming either in C or in C++ or Java.
Time Complexity of Algorithms
Time complexity of an algorithm signifies the total time required by the program to run to completion. The time complexity of algorithms is most commonly expressed using the big O notation.
Time Complexity is most commonly estimated by counting the number of elementary functions performed by the algorithm. And since the algorithm's performance may vary with different types of input data, hence for an algorithm we usually use the worst-case Time complexity of an algorithm because that is the maximum time taken for any input size.

Calculating Time Complexity
Now lets tap onto the next big topic related to Time complexity, which is How to Calculate Time Complexity. It becomes very confusing some times, but we will try to explain it in the simplest way.
Now the most common metric for calculating time complexity is Big O notation. This removes all constant factors so that the running time can be estimated in relation to N, as N approaches infinity. In general you can think of it like this :
statement;
Above we have a single statement. Its Time Complexity will be Constant. The running time of the statement will not change in relation to N.


for(i=0; i < N; i++)
{
  statement;
}
The time complexity for the above algorithm will be Linear. The running time of the loop is directly proportional to N. When N doubles, so does the running time.


for(i=0; i < N; i++)
{
  for(j=0; j < N;j++)
  {
    statement;
  }
}
This time, the time complexity for the above code will be Quadratic. The running time of the two loops is proportional to the square of N. When N doubles, the running time increases by N * N.


while(low <= high)
{
  mid = (low + high) / 2;
  if (target < list[mid])
    high = mid - 1;
  else if (target > list[mid])
    low = mid + 1;
  else break;
}
This is an algorithm to break a set of numbers into halves, to search a particular field(we will study this in detail later). Now, this algorithm will have a Logarithmic Time Complexity. The running time of the algorithm is proportional to the number of times N can be divided by 2(N is high-low here). This is because the algorithm divides the working area in half with each iteration.


void quicksort(int list[], int left, int right)
{
  int pivot = partition(list, left, right);
  quicksort(list, left, pivot - 1);
  quicksort(list, pivot + 1, right);
}
Taking the previous algorithm forward, above we have a small logic of Quick Sort(we will study this in detail later). Now in Quick Sort, we divide the list into halves every time, but we repeat the iteration N times(where N is the size of list). Hence time complexity will be N*log( N ). The running time consists of N loops (iterative or recursive) that are logarithmic, thus the algorithm is a combination of linear and logarithmic.
NOTE : In general, doing something with every item in one dimension is linear, doing something with every item in two dimensions is quadratic, and dividing the working area in half is logarithmic.

Types of Notations for Time Complexity
Now we will discuss and understand the various notations used for Time Complexity.
1.    Big Oh denotes "fewer than or the same as" <expression> iterations.
2.    Big Omega denotes "more than or the same as" <expression> iterations.
3.    Big Theta denotes "the same as" <expression> iterations.
4.    Little Oh denotes "fewer than" <expression> iterations.
5.    Little Omega denotes "more than" <expression> iterations.

Understanding Notations of Time Complexity with Example
O(expression) is the set of functions that grow slower than or at the same rate as expression.
Omega(expression) is the set of functions that grow faster than or at the same rate as expression.
Theta(expression) consist of all the functions that lie in both O(expression) and Omega(expression).
Suppose you've calculated that an algorithm takes f(n) operations, where,
f(n) = 3*n^2 + 2*n + 4.   // n^2 means square of n
Since this polynomial grows at the same rate as n^2, then you could say that the function f lies in the setTheta(n^2). (It also lies in the sets O(n^2) and Omega(n^2) for the same reason.)
The simplest explanation is, because Theta denotes the same as the expression. Hence, as f(n) grows by a factor of n^2, the time complexity can be best represented as Theta(n^2).
Introduction to Sorting
Sorting is nothing but storage of data in sorted order, it can be in ascending or descending order. The term Sorting comes into picture with the term Searching. There are so many things in our real life that we need to search, like a particular record in database, roll numbers in merit list, a particular telephone number, any particular page in a book etc.
Sorting arranges data in a sequence which makes searching easier. Every record which is going to be sorted will contain one key. Based on the key the record will be sorted. For example, suppose we have a record of students, every such record will have the following data:
·         Roll No.
·         Name
·         Age
·         Class
Here Student roll no. can be taken as key for sorting the records in ascending or descending order. Now suppose we have to search a Student with roll no. 15, we don't need to search the complete record we will simply search between the Students with roll no. 10 to 20.

Sorting Efficiency
There are many techniques for sorting. Implementation of particular sorting technique depends upon situation. Sorting techniques mainly depends on two parameters. First parameter is the execution time of program, which means time taken for execution of program. Second is the space, which means space taken by the program.

Types of Sorting Techniques
There are many types of Sorting techniques, differentiated by their efficiency and space requirements. Following are some sorting techniques which we will be covering in next sections.
1.    Bubble Sort
2.    Insertion Sort
3.    Selection Sort
4.    Quick Sort
5.    Merge Sort
6.    Heap Sort
7.                Bubble Sorting
8.    Bubble Sort is an algorithm which is used to sort N elements that are given in a memory for eg: an Array withN number of elements. Bubble Sort compares all the element one by one and sort them based on their values.
9.    It is called Bubble sort, because with each iteration the smaller element in the list bubbles up towards the first place, just like a water bubble rises up to the water surface.
10.  Sorting takes place by stepping through all the data items one-by-one in pairs and comparing adjacent data items and swapping each pair that is out of order.
11.  Bubble Sort for Data Structures
12. 
13. Sorting using Bubble Sort Algorithm
14.  Let's consider an array with values {5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3}
15.int a[6] = {5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3};
16.int i, j, temp;
17.for(i=0; i<6, i++)
18.{
19.  for(j=0; j<6-i-1; j++)
20.  {
21.    if( a[j] > a[j+1])
22.    {
23.      temp = a[j];
24.      a[j] = a[j+1];
25.      a[j+1] = temp;
26.    }
27.  }
28.}
29.//now you can print the sorted array after this
30.  Above is the algorithm, to sort an array using Bubble Sort. Although the above logic will sort and unsorted array, still the above algorithm isn't efficient and can be enhanced further. Because as per the above logic, the for loop will keep going for six iterations even if the array gets sorted after the second iteration.
31.  Hence we can insert a flag and can keep checking whether swapping of elements is taking place or not. If no swapping is taking place that means the array is sorted and wew can jump out of the for loop.
32.int a[6] = {5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3};
33.int i, j, temp;
34.for(i=0; i<6, i++)
35.{
36.  for(j=0; j<6-i-1; j++)
37.  {
38.    int flag = 0;        //taking a flag variable
39.    if( a[j] > a[j+1])
40.    {
41.      temp = a[j];
42.      a[j] = a[j+1];
43.      a[j+1] = temp;
44.      flag = 1;         //setting flag as 1, if swapping occurs
45.    }
46.  }
47.  if(!flag)             //breaking out of for loop if no swapping takes place
48.  {
49.    break;
50.  }
51.}
52.  In the above code, if in a complete single cycle of j iteration(inner for loop), no swapping takes place, and flag remains 0, then we will break out of the for loops, because the array has already been sorted.
53. 
54. Complexity Analysis of Bubble Sorting
55.  In Bubble Sort, n-1 comparisons will be done in 1st pass, n-2 in 2nd pass, n-3 in 3rd pass and so on. So the total number of comparisons will be
56.(n-1)+(n-2)+(n-3)+.....+3+2+1
57.Sum = n(n-1)/2
58.i.e O(n2)
59.  Hence the complexity of Bubble Sort is O(n2).
60.  The main advantage of Bubble Sort is the simplicity of the algorithm.Space complexity for Bubble Sort is O(1), because only single additional memory space is required for temp variable
61.  Best-case Time Complexity will be O(n), it is when the list is already sorted.
Insertion Sorting
It is a simple Sorting algorithm which sorts the array by shifting elements one by one. Following are some of the important characteristics of Insertion Sort.
1.    It has one of the simplest implementation
2.    It is efficient for smaller data sets, but very inefficient for larger lists.
3.    Insertion Sort is adaptive, that means it reduces its total number of steps if given a partially sorted list, hence it increases its efficiency.
4.    It is better than Selection Sort and Bubble Sort algorithms.
5.    Its space complexity is less, like Bubble Sorting, inerstion sort also requires a single additional memory space.
6.    It is Stable, as it does not change the relative order of elements with equal keys
Example for Stable sort

How Insertion Sorting Works
Insertion SOrting in Data Structures.

Sorting using Insertion Sort Algorithm
int a[6] = {5, 1, 6, 2, 4, 3};
int i, j, key;
for(i=1; i<6; i++)
{
  key = a[i];
  j = i-1;
  while(j>=0 && key < a[j])
  {
    a[j+1] = a[j];
    j--;
  }
  a[j+1] = key;
}
Now lets, understand the above simple insertion sort algorithm. We took an array with 6 integers. We took a variable key, in which we put each element of the array, in each pass, starting from the second element, that is a[1].
Then using the while loop, we iterate, until j becomes equal to zero or we find an element which is greater than key, and then we insert the key at that position.
In the above array, first we pick 1 as key, we compare it with 5(element before 1), 1 is smaller than 5, we shift 1 before 5. Then we pick 6, and compare it with 5 and 1, no shifting this time. Then 2 becomes the key and is compared with, 6 and 5, and then 2 is placed after 1. And this goes on, until complete array gets sorted.

Complexity Analysis of Insertion Sorting
Worst Case Time Complexity : O(n2)
Best Case Time Complexity : O(n)
Average Time Complexity : O(n2)
Space Complexity : O(1)
Selection Sorting
Selection sorting is conceptually the most simplest sorting algorithm. This algorithm first finds the smallest element in the array and exchanges it with the element in the first position, then find the second smallest element and exchange it with the element in the second position, and continues in this way until the entire array is sorted.

How Selection Sorting Works
Selection Sorting in Data Structures
In the first pass, the smallest element found is 1, so it is placed at the first position, then leaving first element, smallest element is searched from the rest of the elements, 3 is the smallest, so it is then placed at the second position. Then we leave 1 nad 3, from the rest of the elements, we search for the smallest and put it at third position and keep doing this, until array is sorted.

Sorting using Selection Sort Algorithm
void selectionSort(int a[], int size)
{
  int i, j, min, temp;
  for(i=0; i < size-1; i++ )
  {
    min = i;   //setting min as i
    for(j=i+1; j < size; j++)
    {
      if(a[j] < a[min])   //if element at j is less than element at min position
      {
       min = j;    //then set min as j
      }
    }
   temp = a[i];
   a[i] = a[min];
   a[min] = temp;
  }
}

Complexity Analysis of Selection Sorting
Worst Case Time Complexity : O(n2)
Best Case Time Complexity : O(n2)
Average Time Complexity : O(n2)
Space Complexity : O(1)
Quick Sort Algorithm
Quick Sort, as the name suggests, sorts any list very quickly. Quick sort is not stable search, but it is very fast and requires very less aditional space. It is based on the rule of Divide and Conquer(also called partition-exchange sort). This algorithm divides the list into three main parts :
1.    Elements less than the Pivot element
2.    Pivot element
3.    Elements greater than the pivot element
In the list of elements, mentioned in below example, we have taken 25 as pivot. So after the first pass, the list will be changed like this.
6 8 17 14 25 63 37 52
Hnece after the first pass, pivot will be set at its position, with all the elements smaller to it on its left and all the elements larger than it on the right. Now 6 8 17 14 and 63 37 52 are considered as two separate lists, and same logic is applied on them, and we keep doing this until the complete list is sorted.

How Quick Sorting Works
Quick Sorting in Data Structures

Sorting using Quick Sort Algorithm
/*  a[] is the array, p is starting index, that is 0,
and r is the last index of array.  */

void quicksort(int a[], int p, int r)   
{
  if(p < r)
  {
    int q;
    q = partition(a, p, r);
    quicksort(a, p, q);
    quicksort(a, q+1, r);
  }
}

int partition(int a[], int p, int r)
{
  int i, j, pivot, temp;
  pivot = a[p];
  i = p;
  j = r;
  while(1)
  {
   while(a[i] < pivot && a[i] != pivot)
   i++;
   while(a[j] > pivot && a[j] != pivot)
   j--;
   if(i < j)
   {
    temp = a[i];
    a[i] = a[j];
    a[j] = temp;
   }
   else
   {
    return j;
   }
  }
}

Complexity Analysis of Quick Sort
Worst Case Time Complexity : O(n2)
Best Case Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Average Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Space Complexity : O(n log n)
·         Space required by quick sort is very less, only O(n log n) additional space is required.
·         Quick sort is not a stable sorting technique, so it might change the occurence of two similar elements in the list while sorting.
Merge Sort Algorithm
Merge Sort follows the rule of Divide and Conquer. But it doesn't divides the list into two halves. In merge sort the unsorted list is divided into N sublists, each having one element, because a list of one element is considered sorted. Then, it repeatedly merge these sublists, to produce new sorted sublists, and at lasts one sorted list is produced.
Merge Sort is quite fast, and has a time complexity of O(n log n). It is also a stable sort, which means the "equal" elements are ordered in the same order in the sorted list.

How Merge Sort Works
Merge Sorting in Data Structures


Like we can see in the above example, merge sort first breaks the unsorted list into sorted sublists, and then keep merging these sublists, to finlly get the complete sorted list.

Sorting using Merge Sort Algorithm
/*  a[] is the array, p is starting index, that is 0,
and r is the last index of array.  */

Lets take a[5] = {32, 45, 67, 2, 7} as the array to be sorted.

void mergesort(int a[], int p, int r)
{
  int q;
  if(p < r)
  {
    q = floor( (p+r) / 2);
    mergesort(a, p, q);
    mergesort(a, q+1, r);
    merge(a, p, q, r);
  }
}

void merge(int a[], int p, int q, int r)
{
  int b[5];     //same size of a[]
  int i, j, k;
  k = 0;
  i = p;
  j = q+1;
  while(i <= q && j <= r)
  {
    if(a[i] < a[j])
    {
      b[k++] = a[i++];       // same as b[k]=a[i]; k++; i++;
    }
    else
    {
      b[k++] = a[j++];
    }
  }
 
  while(i <= q)
  {
    b[k++] = a[i++];
  }
 
  while(j <= r)
  {
    b[k++] = a[j++];
  }
 
  for(i=r; i >= p; i--)
  {
    a[i] = b[--k];        // copying back the sorted list to a[]
  }

}

Complexity Analysis of Merge Sort
Worst Case Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Best Case Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Average Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Space Complexity : O(n)
·         Time complexity of Merge Sort is O(n Log n) in all 3 cases (worst, average and best) as merge sort always divides the array in two halves and take linear time to merge two halves.
·         It requires equal amount of additional space as the unsorted list. Hence its not at all recommended for searching large unsorted lists.
·         It is the best Sorting technique for sorting Linked Lists.
Heap Sort Algorithm
Heap Sort is one of the best sorting methods being in-place and with no quadratic worst-case scenarios. Heap sort algorithm is divided into two basic parts :
·         Creating a Heap of the unsorted list.
·         Then a sorted array is created by repeatedly removing the largest/smallest element from the heap, and inserting it into the array. The heap is reconstructed after each removal.

What is a Heap ?
Heap is a special tree-based data structure, that satisfies the following special heap properties :
1.    Shape Property : Heap data structure is always a Complete Binary Tree, which means all levels of the tree are fully filled.
difference between complete and incomplete binary tree
2.    Heap Property : All nodes are either [greater than or equal to] or [less than or equal to] each of its children. If the parent nodes are greater than their children, heap is called a Max-Heap, and if the parent nodes are smalled than their child nodes, heap is called Min-Heap.
Min-Heap and Max-heap

How Heap Sort Works
Initially on receiving an unsorted list, the first step in heap sort is to create a Heap data structure(Max-Heap or Min-Heap). Once heap is built, the first element of the Heap is either largest or smallest(depending upon Max-Heap or Min-Heap), so we put the first element of the heap in our array. Then we again make heap using the remaining elements, to again pick the first element of the heap and put it into the array. We keep on doing the same repeatedly untill we have the complete sorted list in our array.
In the below algorithm, initially heapsort() function is called, which calls buildheap() to build heap, which inturn uses satisfyheap() to build the heap.

Sorting using Heap Sort Algorithm
/*  Below program is written in C++ language  */

void heapsort(int[], int);
void buildheap(int [], int);
void satisfyheap(int [], int, int);

void main()
{
  int a[10], i, size;
  cout << "Enter size of list";    // less than 10, because max size of array is 10
  cin >> size;
  cout << "Enter" << size << "elements";
  for( i=0; i < size; i++)
  {
    cin >> a[i];
  }
  heapsort(a, size);
  getch();
}

void heapsort(int a[], int length)
{
  buildheap(a, length);
  int heapsize, i, temp;
  heapsize = length - 1;
  for( i=heapsize; i >= 0; i--)
  {
    temp = a[0];
    a[0] = a[heapsize];
    a[heapsize] = temp;
    heapsize--;
    satisfyheap(a, 0, heapsize);
  }
  for( i=0; i < length; i++)
  {
    cout << "\t" << a[i];
  }
}

void buildheap(int a[], int length)
{
  int i, heapsize;
  heapsize = length - 1;
  for( i=(length/2); i >= 0; i--)
  {
    satisfyheap(a, i, heapsize);
  }
}

void satisfyheap(int a[], int i, int heapsize)
{
  int l, r, largest, temp;
  l = 2*i;
  r = 2*i + 1;
  if(l <= heapsize && a[l] > a[i])
  {
    largest = l;
  }
  else
  {
    largest = i;
  }
  if( r <= heapsize && a[r] > a[largest])
  {
    largest = r;
  }
  if(largest != i)
  {
    temp = a[i];
    a[i] = a[largest];
    a[largest] = temp;
    satisfyheap(a, largest, heapsize);
  }
}

Complexity Analysis of Heap Sort
Worst Case Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Best Case Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Average Time Complexity : O(n log n)
Space Complexity : O(n)
·         Heap sort is not a Stable sort, and requires a constant space for sorting a list.
·         Heap Sort is very fast and is widely used for sorting.
·         Searching Algorithms on Array
·         Before studying searching algorithms on array we should know what is an algorithm?
·         An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure or method for solving a problem by a computer in a given number of steps. The steps of an algorithm may include repetition depending upon the problem for which the algorithm is being developed. The algorithm is written in human readable and understandable form. To search an element in a given array, it can be done in two ways Linear search and Binary search.
·        
·         Linear Search
·         A linear search is the basic and simple search algorithm. A linear search searches an element or value from an array till the desired element or value is not found and it searches in a sequence order. It compares the element with all the other elements given in the list and if the element is matched it returns the value index else it return -1. Linear Search is applied on the unsorted or unordered list when there are fewer elements in a list.
·        
·         Example with Implementation
·         To search the element 5 it will go step by step in a sequence order.
·         http://www.studytonight.com/data-structures/images/linear-search-array.png
·         function findIndex(values, target)
·          {
·            for(var i = 0; i < values.length; ++i)
·              {
·                if (values[i] == target)
·                  {       
·                    return i;
·                  }
·              }
·            return -1;
·          }
·         //call the function findIndex with array and number to be searched
·         findIndex([ 8 , 2 , 6 , 3 , 5 ] , 5) ;
·        
·         Binary Search
·         Binary Search is applied on the sorted array or list. In binary search, we first compare the value with the elements in the middle position of the array. If the value is matched, then we return the value. If the value is less than the middle element, then it must lie in the lower half of the array and if it's greater than the element then it must lie in the upper half of the array. We repeat this procedure on the lower (or upper) half of the array. Binary Search is useful when there are large numbers of elements in an array.
·        
·         Example with Implementation
·         To search an element 13 from the sorted array or list.
·         Binary Search Algorithm
·         function findIndex(values, target)
·         {
·           return binarySearch(values, target, 0, values.length - 1);
·         };
·          
·         function binarySearch(values, target, start, end) {
·           if (start > end) { return -1; } //does not exist
·          
·           var middle = Math.floor((start + end) / 2);
·           var value = values[middle];
·          
·           if (value > target) { return binarySearch(values, target, start, middle-1); }
·           if (value < target) { return binarySearch(values, target, middle+1, end); }
·           return middle; //found!
·         }
·          
·         findIndex([2, 4, 7, 9, 13, 15], 13);
·         In the above program logic, we are first comparing the middle number of the list, with the target, if it matches we return. If it doesn't, we see whether the middle number is greater than or smaller than the target.
·         If the Middle number is greater than the Target, we start the binary search again, but this time on the left half of the list, that is from the start of the list to the middle, not beyond that.
·         If the Middle number is smaller than the Target, we start the binary search again, but on the right half of the list, that is from the middle of the list to the end of the list.
Stacks
Stack is an abstract data type with a bounded(predefined) capacity. It is a simple data structure that allows adding and removing elements in a particular order. Every time an element is added, it goes on the top of the stack, the only element that can be removed is the element that was at the top of the stack, just like a pile of objects.
Stack Data Structure

Basic features of Stack
1.    Stack is an ordered list of similar data type.
2.    Stack is a LIFO structure. (Last in First out).
3.    push() function is used to insert new elements into the Stack and pop() is used to delete an element from the stack. Both insertion and deletion are allowed at only one end of Stack called Top.
4.    Stack is said to be in Overflow state when it is completely full and is said to be in Underflow state if it is completely empty.

Applications of Stack
The simplest application of a stack is to reverse a word. You push a given word to stack - letter by letter - and then pop letters from the stack.
There are other uses also like : Parsing, Expression Conversion(Infix to Postfix, Postfix to Prefix etc) and many more.

Implementation of Stack
Stack can be easily implemented using an Array or a Linked List. Arrays are quick, but are limited in size and Linked List requires overhead to allocate, link, unlink, and deallocate, but is not limited in size. Here we will implement Stack using array.
Implementation of Stack
/*  Below program is written in C++ language  */

Class Stack
{
  int top;
  public:
  int a[10];    //Maximum size of Stack
  Stack()
  {
    top = -1;
  }
};

void Stack::push(int x)
{
  if( top >= 10)
  {
    cout << "Stack Overflow";
  }
  else
  {
    a[++top] = x;
    cout << "Element Inserted";
  }
}

int Stack::pop()
{
  if(top < 0)
  {
    cout << "Stack Underflow";
    return 0;
  }
  else
  {
    int d = a[--top];
    return d;
  }
}

void Stack::isEmpty()
{
  if(top < 0)
  {
    cout << "Stack is empty";
  }
  else
  {
    cout << "Stack is not empty";
  }
}


Position of Top
Status of Stack
-1
Stack is Empty
0
Only one element in Stack
N-1
Stack is Full
N
Overflow state of Stack

Analysis of Stacks
Below mentioned are the time complexities for various operations that can be performed on the Stack data structure.
·         Push Operation : O(1)
·         Pop Operation : O(1)
·         Top Operation : O(1)
·         Search Operation : O(n)
Queue Data Structures
Queue is also an abstract data type or a linear data structure, in which the first element is inserted from one end called REAR(also called tail), and the deletion of exisiting element takes place from the other end called as FRONT(also called head). This makes queue as FIFO data structure, which means that element inserted first will also be removed first.
The process to add an element into queue is called Enqueue and the process of removal of an element from queue is called Dequeue.
Introduction to Queue

Basic features of Queue
1.    Like Stack, Queue is also an ordered list of elements of similar data types.
2.    Queue is a FIFO( First in First Out ) structure.
3.    Once a new element is inserted into the Queue, all the elements inserted before the new element in the queue must be removed, to remove the new element.
4.    peek( ) function is oftenly used to return the value of first element without dequeuing it.

Applications of Queue
Queue, as the name suggests is used whenever we need to have any group of objects in an order in which the first one coming in, also gets out first while the others wait for there turn, like in the following scenarios :
1.    Serving requests on a single shared resource, like a printer, CPU task scheduling etc.
2.    In real life, Call Center phone systems will use Queues, to hold people calling them in an order, until a service representative is free.
3.    Handling of interrupts in real-time systems. The interrupts are handled in the same order as they arrive, First come first served.

Implementation of Queue
Queue can be implemented using an Array, Stack or Linked List. The easiest way of implementing a queue is by using an Array. Initially the head(FRONT) and the tail(REAR) of the queue points at the first index of the array (starting the index of array from 0). As we add elements to the queue, the tail keeps on moving ahead, always pointing to the position where the next element will be inserted, while the head remains at the first index.
implementation of queue
When we remove element from Queue, we can follow two possible approaches (mentioned [A] and [B] in above diagram). In [A] approach, we remove the element at head position, and then one by one move all the other elements on position forward. In approach [B] we remove the element from head position and then move head to the next position.
In approach [A] there is an overhead of shifting the elements one position forward every time we remove the first element. In approach [B] there is no such overhead, but whener we move head one position ahead, after removal of first element, the size on Queue is reduced by one space each time.
/* Below program is wtitten in C++ language */

#define SIZE 100
class Queue
{
  int a[100];
  int rear;     //same as tail
  int front;    //same as head
 
  public:
  Queue()
  {
    rear = front = -1;
  }
  void enqueue(int x);     //declaring enqueue, dequeue and display functions
  int dequeue();
  void display();
}

void Queue :: enqueue(int x)
{
  if( rear = SIZE-1)
  {
    cout << "Queue is full";
  }
  else
  {
    a[++rear] = x;
  }
}

int queue :: dequeue()
{
  return a[++front];     //following approach [B], explained above
}

void queue :: display()
{
  int i;
  for( i = front; i <= rear; i++)
  {
    cout << a[i];
  }
}
To implement approach [A], you simply need to change the dequeue method, and include a for loop which will shift all the remaining elements one position.
return a[0];      //returning first element
for (i = 0; i < tail-1; i++)      //shifting all other elements
{
  a[i]= a[i+1];
  tail--;
}

Analysis of Queue
·         Enqueue : O(1)
·         Dequeue : O(1)
·         Size : O(1)
·         Queue Data Structure using Stack
·         A Queue is defined by its property of FIFO, which means First in First Out, i.e the element which is added first is taken out first. Hence we can implement a Queue using Stack for storage instead of array.
·         For performing enqueue we require only one stack as we can directly push data into stack, but to performdequeue we will require two Stacks, because we need to follow queue's FIFO property and if we directly popany data element out of Stack, it will follow LIFO approach(Last in First Out).
·        
·         Implementation of Queue using Stacks
·         In all we will require two Stacks, we will call them InStack and OutStack.
·         class Queue {
·           public:
·           Stack S1, S2;
·           //defining methods
·           
·           void enqueue(int x);
·           
·           int dequeue();
·         }
·        

·         We know that, Stack is a data structure, in which data can be added using push() method and data can be deleted using pop() method. To learn about Stack, follow the link : Stack Data Structure
·        

·         Adding Data to Queue
·         As our Queue has Stack for data storage in place of arrays, hence we will be adding data to Stack, which can be done using the push() method, hence :
·         void Queue :: enqueue(int x) {
·           S1.push(x);
·         }
·        

·         Removing Data from Queue
·         When we say remove data from Queue, it always means taking out the First element first and so on, as we have to follow the FIFO approach. But if we simply perform S1.pop() in our dequeue method, then it will remove the Last element first. So what to do now?
·         Implementing Queue using Stack
·         int Queue :: dequeue() {
·           while(S1.isEmpty()) {
·             x = S1.pop();
·             S2.push();
·           }
·           
·           //removing the element
·           x = S2.pop();
·           
·           while(!S2.isEmpty()) {
·             x = S2.pop();
·             S1.push(x);
·           }
·           
·           return x;
·         }

Introduction to Linked Lists
Linked List is a linear data structure and it is very common data structure which consists of group of nodes in a sequence which is divided in two parts. Each node consists of its own data and the address of the next node and forms a chain. Linked Lists are used to create trees and graphs.
Linear Linked List

Advantages of Linked Lists
·         They are a dynamic in nature which allocates the memory when required.
·         Insertion and deletion operations can be easily implemented.
·         Stacks and queues can be easily executed.
·         Linked List reduces the access time.

Disadvantages of Linked Lists
·         The memory is wasted as pointers require extra memory for storage.
·         No element can be accessed randomly; it has to access each node sequentially.
·         Reverse Traversing is difficult in linked list.

Applications of Linked Lists
·         Linked lists are used to implement stacks, queues, graphs, etc.
·         Linked lists let you insert elements at the beginning and end of the list.
·         In Linked Lists we don’t need to know the size in advance.

Types of Linked Lists
·         Singly Linked List : Singly linked lists contain nodes which have a data part as well as an address part i.e. next, which points to the next node in sequence of nodes. The operations we can perform on singly linked lists are insertion, deletion and traversal.
Linear Linked List
·         Doubly Linked List : In a doubly linked list, each node contains two links the first link points to the previous node and the next link points to the next node in the sequence.
Double Linked List
·         Circular Linked List : In the circular linked list the last node of the list contains the address of the first node and forms a circular chain.
Circular Linked List
Linear Linked List
The element can be inserted in linked list in 2 ways :
·         Insertion at beginning of the list.
·         Insertion at the end of the list.
We will also be adding some more useful methods like :
·         Checking whether Linked List is empty or not.
·         Searching any element in the Linked List
·         Deleting a particular Node from the List
Before inserting the node in the list we will create a class Node. Like shown below :
class Node {
  public:
  int data;
  //pointer to the next node
  node* next;
 
  node() {
    data = 0;
    next = NULL;
  }
 
  node(int x) {
    data = x;
    next = NULL;
  }
}
We can also make the properties data and next as private, in that case we will need to add the getter and setter methods to access them. You can add the getters and setter like this :
int getData() {
  return data;
}

void setData(int x) {
  this.data = x;
}

node* getNext() {
  return next;
}

void setNext(node *n) {
  this.next = n;
}
Node class basically creates a node for the data which you enter to be included into Linked List. Once the node is created, we use various functions to fit in that node into the Linked List.

Linked List class
As we are following the complete OOPS methodology, hence we will create a separate class for Linked List, which will have all its methods. Following will be the Linked List class :
class LinkedList {
  public:
  node *head;
  //declaring the functions
 
  //function to add Node at front
  int addAtFront(node *n);
  //function to check whether Linked list is empty
  int isEmpty();
  //function to add Node at the End of list
  int addAtEnd(node *n);
  //function to search a value
  node* search(int k);
  //function to delete any Node
  node* deleteNode(int x);
 
  LinkedList() {
    head = NULL;
  }
}

Insertion at the Beginning
Steps to insert a Node at beginning :
1.    The first Node is the Head for any Linked List.
2.    When a new Linked List is instantiated, it just has the Head, which is Null.
3.    Else, the Head holds the pointer to the first Node of the List.
4.    When we want to add any Node at the front, we must make the head point to it.
5.    And the Next pointer of the newly added Node, must point to the previous Head, whether it be NULL(in case of new List) or the pointer to the first Node of the List.
6.    The previous Head Node is now the second Node of Linked List, because the new Node is added at the front.
int LinkedList :: addAtFront(node *n) {
  int i = 0;
  //making the next of the new Node point to Head
  n->next = head;
  //making the new Node as Head
  head = n;
  i++;
  //returning the position where Node is added
  return i;
}

Inserting at the End
Steps to insert a Node at the end :
1.    If the Linked List is empty then we simply, add the new Node as the Head of the Linked List.
2.    If the Linked List is not empty then we find the last node, and make it' next to the new Node, hence making the new node the last Node.
int LinkedList :: addAtEnd(node *n) {
  //If list is empty
  if(head == NULL) {
    //making the new Node as Head
    head = n;
    //making the next pointe of the new Node as Null
    n->next = NULL;
  }
  else {
    //getting the last node
    node *n2 = getLastNode();
    n2->next = n;
  }
}

node* LinkedList :: getLastNode() {
  //creating a pointer pointing to Head
  node* ptr = head;
  //Iterating over the list till the node whose Next pointer points to null
  //Return that node, because that will be the last node.
  while(ptr->next!=NULL) {
    //if Next is not Null, take the pointer one step forward
    ptr = ptr->next;
  }
  return ptr;
}

Searching for an Element in the List
In searhing we do not have to do much, we just need to traverse like we did while getting the last node, in this case we will also compare the data of the Node. If we get the Node with the same data, we will return it, otherwise we will make our pointer point the next Node, and so on.
node* LinkedList :: search(int x) {
  node *ptr = head;
  while(ptr != NULL && ptr->data != x) {
    //until we reach the end or we find a Node with data x, we keep moving
    ptr = ptr->next;
  }
  return ptr;
}

Deleting a Node from the List
Deleting a node can be done in many ways, like we first search the Node with data which we want to delete and then we delete it. In our approach, we will define a method which will take the data to be deleted as argument, will use the search method to locate it and will then remove the Node from the List.
To remove any Node from the list, we need to do the following :
·         If the Node to be deleted is the first node, then simply set the Next pointer of the Head to point to the next element from the Node to be deleted.
·         If the Node is in the middle somewhere, then find the Node before it, and make the Node before it point to the Node next to it.
node* LinkedList :: deleteNode(int x) {
  //searching the Node with data x
  node *n = search(x);
  node *ptr = head;
  if(ptr == n) {
    ptr->next = n->next;
    return n;
  }
  else {
    while(ptr->next != n) {
      ptr = ptr->next;
    }
    ptr->next = n->next;
    return n;
  }
}

Checking whether the List is empty or not
We just need to check whether the Head of the List is NULL or not.
int LinkedList :: isEmpty() {
  if(head == NULL) {
    return 1;
  }
  else { return 0; }
}


Now you know a lot about how to handle List, how to traverse it, how to search an element. You can yourself try to write new methods around the List.
If you are still figuring out, how to call all these methods, then below is how your main() method will look like. As we have followed OOP standards, we will create the objects of LinkedList class to initialize our List and then we will create objects of Node class whenever we want to add any new node to the List.
int main() {
  LinkedList L;
  //We will ask value from user, read the value and add the value to our Node
  int x;
  cout << "Please enter an integer value : ";
  cin >> x;
  Node *n1;
  //Creating a new node with data as x
  n1 = new Node(x);
  //Adding the node to the list
  L.addAtFront(n1);
}
Similarly you can call any of the functions of the LinkedList class, add as many Nodes you want to your List.

Circular Linked List

Circular Linked List is little more complicated linked data structure. In the circular linked list we can insert elements anywhere in the list whereas in the array we cannot insert element anywhere in the list because it is in the contiguous memory. In the circular linked list the previous element stores the address of the next element and the last element stores the address of the starting element. The elements points to each other in a circular way which forms a circular chain. The circular linked list has a dynamic size which means the memory can be allocated when it is required.
Circular Linked List

Application of Circular Linked List

·         The real life application where the circular linked list is used is our Personal Computers, where multiple applications are running. All the running applications are kept in a circular linked list and the OS gives a fixed time slot to all for running. The Operating System keeps on iterating over the linked list until all the applications are completed.
·         Another example can be Multiplayer games. All the Players are kept in a Circular Linked List and the pointer keeps on moving forward as a player's chance ends.
·         Circular Linked List can also be used to create Circular Queue. In a Queue we have to keep two pointers, FRONT and REAR in memory all the time, where as in Circular Linked List, only one pointer is required.

Implementing Circular Linked List

Implementing a circular linked list is very easy and almost similar to linear linked list implementation, with the only difference being that, in circular linked list the last Node will have it's next point to the Head of the List. In Linear linked list the last Node simply holds NULL in it's next pointer.
So this will be oue Node class, as we have already studied in the lesson, it will be used to form the List.
class Node {
  public:
  int data;
  //pointer to the next node
  node* next;
  
  node() {
    data = 0;
    next = NULL;
  }
  
  node(int x) {
    data = x;
    next = NULL;
  }
} 

Circular Linked List

Circular Linked List class will be almost same as the Linked List class that we studied in the previous lesson, with a few difference in the implementation of class methods.
class CircularLinkedList {
  public:
  node *head;
  //declaring the functions
  
  //function to add Node at front
  int addAtFront(node *n);
  //function to check whether Linked list is empty
  int isEmpty();
  //function to add Node at the End of list
  int addAtEnd(node *n);
  //function to search a value
  node* search(int k);
  //function to delete any Node
  node* deleteNode(int x);
  
  CircularLinkedList() {
    head = NULL;
  }
}

Insertion at the Beginning

Steps to insert a Node at beginning :
1.    The first Node is the Head for any Linked List.
2.    When a new Linked List is instantiated, it just has the Head, which is Null.
3.    Else, the Head holds the pointer to the fisrt Node of the List.
4.    When we want to add any Node at the front, we must make the head point to it.
5.    And the Next pointer of the newly added Node, must point to the previous Head, whether it be NULL(in case of new List) or the pointer to the first Node of the List.
6.    The previous Head Node is now the second Node of Linked List, because the new Node is added at the front.
int CircularLinkedList :: addAtFront(node *n) {
  int i = 0;
  /* If the list is empty */
  if(head == NULL) {
    n->next = head;
    //making the new Node as Head
    head = n;
    i++;
  }
  else {
    n->next = head;
    //get the Last Node and make its next point to new Node
    Node* last = getLastNode();
    last->next = n;
    //also make the head point to the new first Node
    head = n;
    i++;
  }
  //returning the position where Node is added
  return i;
}

Insertion at the End

Steps to insert a Node at the end :
1.    If the Linked List is empty then we simply, add the new Node as the Head of the Linked List.
2.    If the Linked List is not empty then we find the last node, and make it' next to the new Node, and make the next of the Newly added Node point to the Head of the List.
int CircularLinkedList :: addAtEnd(node *n) {
  //If list is empty
  if(head == NULL) {
    //making the new Node as Head
    head = n;
    //making the next pointer of the new Node as Null
    n->next = NULL;
  }
  else {
    //getting the last node
    node *last = getLastNode();
    last->next = n;
    //making the next pointer of new node point to head
    n->next = head;
  } 
}

Searching for an Element in the List

In searhing we do not have to do much, we just need to traverse like we did while getting the last node, in this case we will also compare the data of the Node. If we get the Node with the same data, we will return it, otherwise we will make our pointer point the next Node, and so on.
node* CircularLinkedList :: search(int x) {
  node *ptr = head;
  while(ptr != NULL && ptr->data != x) {
    //until we reach the end or we find a Node with data x, we keep moving
    ptr = ptr->next;
  }
  return ptr;
}

Deleting a Node from the List

Deleting a node can be done in many ways, like we first search the Node with data which we want to delete and then we delete it. In our approach, we will define a method which will take the data to be deleted as argument, will use the search method to locate it and will then remove the Node from the List.
To remove any Node from the list, we need to do the following :
·         If the Node to be deleted is the first node, then simply set the Next pointer of the Head to point to the next element from the Node to be deleted. And update the next pointer of the Last Node as well.
·         If the Node is in the middle somewhere, then find the Node before it, and make the Node before it point to the Node next to it.
·         If the Node is at the end, then remove it and make the new last node point to the head.
node* CircularLinkedList :: deleteNode(int x) {
  //searching the Node with data x
  node *n = search(x);
  node *ptr = head;
  if(ptr == NULL) {
    cout << "List is empty";
    return NULL;
  }
  else if(ptr == n) {
    ptr->next = n->next;
    return n;
  }
  else {
    while(ptr->next != n) {
      ptr = ptr->next;
    }
    ptr->next = n->next;
    return n;
  }
}


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