Question

Suppose locate is a reference to a node in a linked list (and it is not the null reference). Write an assignment statement that will make locate move to the next node in the list. You should write two versions of the assignment—one that can appear in the IntNode class itself and another that can appear outside of the class. What do your assignment statements do if locate was already referring to the last node in the list?

Answer 1

The assignment statement to move to the next node in a linked list is "locate = locate.next;". If done within the class, this could be "this.locate = this.next;". If "locate" is on the last node, it becomes null after the operation.

Step-by-step explanation:

To make locate, which is a reference to a node in a linked list, move to the next node, you would assign it to reference the node that it's next member variable points to. Here's how you would write this in Java:

• Within the IntNode class itself (an instance method): this.locate = this.next;
• Outside of the IntNode class (if you have access to locate's next field or through a getter method): locate = locate.next;

If locate was already referring to the last node in the list, the next field would be null. Hence, the assignment statement would set locate to null, indicating that you've moved past the end of the list and there are no more nodes to traverse.