Final answer:
To delete a node in a singly linked list when only given a pointer to that node, you can use the copying deletion technique, where you copy the data from the next node into the targeted node and then delete the next node. However, this method cannot be applied to the last node and may not always be appropriate.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question revolves around the possibility of deleting a node X from a singly linked list given only a pointer to that particular node and not the head of the list. In a traditional deletion operation in a singly linked list where the head pointer is available, you would need to find the node just before the one you wish to delete and adjust its pointer to bypass the node targeted for deletion. However, when only a pointer to the node X is given, the typical deletion process is not directly feasible.
To delete node X, one approach is to replicate the data from the next node into node X and then delete the next node instead. This makes the next node effectively redundant as its data is now copied to node X. This deletion method is often referred to as a copying deletion technique. It is important to note that this method cannot be used to delete the last node of the list since there is no next node from which to copy data, and thus, it has a limitation.
To summarize, while you can delete a node in a singly linked list with access to only that node by using the copying deletion technique, this method does not work for the last node in the list. Furthermore, this method modifies the data in the list, which may not be desirable in all contexts, and the original node structure remains unchanged.