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Joined 2026-09-21 Message
Incoming links: List header
A list header is a stable entry record for a linked list. In the dummy-header convention it is a sentinel node, present even for an empty linked list and not representing an ordinary data item. It may also carry information such as the length.
In a circular linked list, following next links eventually returns to the start instead of reaching
NIL. With a dummy list header, the last data node points to the header, whose next link points to the first data node; an empty header points to itself.A singly linked list stores a next pointer in every linked list node. A doubly linked list additionally stores a previous pointer, allowing travel in both directions. For adjacent nodes, the consistency law iswith suitable endpoint conventions in a noncircular representation.
A dummy list header makes insertion or deletion at the front resemble insertion or deletion in the middle: there is always a predecessor record to update. In a circular doubly linked list, it also supplies a stable end position, handles the empty case uniformly, and avoids changing an external head pointer every time the first data node changes.
Its disadvantage is the extra record and associated storage and initialization work; traversal must also distinguish the sentinel node from real data. Thus
Choose a circular doubly linked list with a permanent dummy list header. For a concrete Oberon definition take
data = INTEGER; the same link operations work with any chosen data data type:TYPE data = INTEGER;
pointerToNode = POINTER TO node;
node = RECORD
value : data;
prev, next : pointerToNode
END;
PROCEDURE NewList() : pointerToNode;
VAR h : pointerToNode;
BEGIN
NEW(h);
h.prev := h;
h.next := h;
RETURN h
END NewList;
PROCEDURE Insert(v : data; n : pointerToNode);
VAR t, p : pointerToNode;
BEGIN
p := n.prev;
NEW(t);
t.value := v;
t.prev := p;
t.next := n;
p.next := t;
n.prev := t
END Insert;
PROCEDURE Delete(n : pointerToNode);
VAR p, q : pointerToNode;
BEGIN
p := n.prev;
q := n.next;
p.next := q;
q.prev := p;
n.prev := NIL;
n.next := NIL
END Delete;The representation invariant is that the live nodes and header form one finite circular chain, with every neighboring next/previous pair mutually consistent.
Insert replaces the link by . Delete replaces by . All other links remain unchanged. These arguments also cover insertion into an empty linked list and deletion of its sole data node, where the neighboring positions can refer to the same header.Insert requires a live node n belonging to this representation and successful allocation. It may be called with n equal to the header, meaning append just before the end. Delete requires a live data node and must never be called on the header, on NIL, or on a node already deleted or belonging to an incompatible representation. The signature alone cannot enforce those preconditions. The detached node is left for garbage collection; external references must no longer treat it as a member of the linked list. Neither update contains a loop. Apart from allocation and memory management, the link work isA list header is a permanent dummy linked list node, distinct from the ordinary elements. It gives a stable reference to the linked list and can store metadata such as its length. In a circular linked list, following successor links eventually returns to the starting point; with a list header, the last ordinary element links to the header, and the empty structure has the header linked to itself.
A singly linked list stores a successor reference per linked list node. A doubly linked list additionally stores a predecessor reference. The latter supports traversal in both directions and deletion of a known linked list node in constant time, without first searching for its predecessor. It costs another reference per linked list node and additional updates whose mutual consistency must be maintained. A list header makes insertion and deletion at an endpoint use the same local splicing rules as an interior change; the empty case does not require replacing an external head reference.
The runtime precondition check rules out negative dimensions:Both links point to the fresh list header, so all reciprocal-link conditions hold and there are no ordinary entries to violate ordering or nonzero-value requirements. The abstraction function therefore yields the zero vector of dimension
def makeZeroVector(size: Int): Node = {
require(size >= 0)
val h = new Node(0.0, size)
h.prev = h
h.next = h
h
}size. Construction uses constant time and constant space.An already-zero entry needs no new linked list node:The full input representation invariant is a precondition. The search has the same loop invariant and loop variant as in part (d). At exit, either
def zeroElement(vector: Node, index: Int): Unit = {
require(vector != null)
require(0 <= index && index < vector.index)
var p = vector.next
while ((p ne vector) && p.index < index) p = p.next
if ((p ne vector) && p.index == index) {
val left = p.prev
val right = p.next
left.next = right
right.prev = left
}
}p is the only stored entry with that index or none exists. In the first case, bypassing it in both directions removes exactly that coordinate and preserves the order of all remaining entries. This also works when its two neighbors are the same list header, leaving a self-linked empty structure. The header itself is never removed. The requested coordinate is zero and all others are unchanged, in time complexity.start == null if and only if end == null. Otherwise there is a finite list of distinct software objects , with start eq v0, end eq v(m-1), v0.left == null, and v(m-1).right == null. For every valid adjacent pair, v(i).right eq v(i+1) and v(i+1).left eq v(i). These are exactly the entries reachable through the list links, so there is no extra cycle or branch. All counts are positive, all words are non-null, and words strictly increase from start to end.This is the representation invariant for a null-terminated doubly linked list without a list header. The abstraction function reads the ordered word-count pairs from left to right. Conversion additionally requires the output entries, counts and words to be precisely those of the input binary search tree; that preservation property is an operation postcondition, rather than an invariant of an arbitrary list by itself.
A list header is a permanent dummy node that represents the list boundary rather than a data entry. A circular linked list links the last node back to the first or to the header. A singly linked list stores only a successor; a doubly linked list stores both successor and predecessor references.
A header provides a stable object even for an empty list, makes insertions and deletions at the ends resemble interior operations, and can hold metadata such as the vector length in this question. In a circular header-based representation, the empty list is the header linked to itself.
A doubly linked list permits backward traversal and constant-time unlinking of a known node without searching for its predecessor. It uses an extra reference per node and requires more pointer updates and a stronger consistency invariant. Finding a node by an arbitrary index can still require a linear scan: bidirectional links alone do not provide random access.
Sparse linked vector representation 2026-10-31
Represent a finite sparse vector by a sorted doubly linked list of its nonzero coordinates. A list header stores the dimension; every ordinary linked list node stores a distinct valid coordinate index, its nonzero value, and predecessor and successor references. In a circular linked list, the endpoints connect to the header, and an all-zero vector has the header linked to itself in both directions. The representation invariant requires strictly increasing ordinary indices, valid bounds and mutually consistent forward and backward links. The abstraction function assigns zero to every coordinate absent from the list. The header is metadata, never an ordinary coordinate.
For example, has dimension nine and only three stored coordinates. The header's index field can store nine even though nine is not a valid coordinate index. Keeping the header distinct is therefore essential when searching for or removing entries.
A circular sparse linked vector representation stores only nonzero coordinates
. Details. 