miku86

Intro

Last time, we learned how to shift / remove data from the beginning of our Doubly Linked List.

Today, we'll learn how to get a specific node by its index.

Starter Code

We start with code that has the push method, because to remove data, we first have to add data.

class Node {
  constructor(value) {
    this.value = value;
    this.prev = null;
    this.next = null;
  }
}

class DoublyLinkedList {
  constructor() {
    this.length = 0;
    this.head = null;
    this.tail = null;
  }

  push(value) {
    const newNode = new Node(value);
    if (!this.length) {
      this.head = newNode;
      this.tail = newNode;
    } else {
      this.tail.next = newNode;
      newNode.prev = this.tail;
      this.tail = newNode;
    }
    this.length += 1;
    return newNode;
  }
}

Thoughts

First, we should think about the constraints and possibilities:

If the list is empty, if the index is less than 0, or if the index is greater than or equal to the list length:

• return null

If the desired node is in the bottom half of the list:

• add counter
• start from the head
• go to the next node until we found our desired node
• return node

If the desired node is in the top half of the list:

• add counter
• start from the tail
• go to the previous node until we found our desired node
• return node

Example:

// current list:
A (head) <===> B <===> C (tail)

// desired node:
get(0); // A (starting from head)
get(1); // B (starting node doesn't matter, equal distance from head or tail)
get(2); // C (starting from tail)

Implementation (Short)

class Node {
  constructor(value) {
    this.value = value;
    this.prev = null;
    this.next = null;
  }
}

class DoublyLinkedList {
  constructor() {
    this.length = 0;
    this.head = null;
    this.tail = null;
  }

  push(value) {
    const newNode = new Node(value);
    if (!this.length) {
      this.head = newNode;
      this.tail = newNode;
    } else {
      this.tail.next = newNode;
      newNode.prev = this.tail;
      this.tail = newNode;
    }
    this.length += 1;
    return newNode;
  }

  get(index) {
    // if list is empty, if index is less than 0, or if index is greater than or equal to the list length, return null
    if (!this.length || index < 0 || index >= this.length) {
      return null;
    } else {
      let currentNode;

      // if the desired node is in the bottom half of the list
      if (index < this.length / 2) {
        // add counter, starting from 0 and counting upwards in the loop
        let counter = 0;

        // start from the head
        currentNode = this.head;

        // go to the next node until we found our desired node
        while (counter < index) {
          currentNode = currentNode.next;
          counter += 1;
        }
      } else {
        // add counter, starting from the top and counting downwards in the loop
        let counter = this.length - 1;

        // start from the tail
        currentNode = this.tail;

        // go to the previous node until we found our desired node
        while (counter > index) {
          currentNode = currentNode.prev;
          counter -= 1;
        }
      }

      // return node
      return currentNode;
    }
  }
}

Result

Let's have a look how to use the Doubly Linked List's get method and its results.

const newDLL = new DoublyLinkedList();
newDLL.push("A");
newDLL.push("B");
newDLL.push("C");

// nothing to see
console.log(newDLL.get(-1));
// null

// should be A
console.log(newDLL.get(0));
// <ref *1> Node {
//   value: 'A',
//   prev: null,
//   next: <ref *2> Node {
//     value: 'B',
//     prev: [Circular *1],
//     next: Node { value: 'C', prev: [Circular *2], next: null }
//   }
// }

// should be B
console.log(newDLL.get(1));
// <ref *1> Node {
//   value: 'B',
//   prev: Node { value: 'A', prev: null, next: [Circular *1] },
//   next: Node { value: 'C', prev: [Circular *1], next: null }
// }

// should be C
console.log(newDLL.get(2));
// <ref *2> Node {
//   value: 'C',
//   prev: <ref *1> Node {
//     value: 'B',
//     prev: Node { value: 'A', prev: null, next: [Circular *1] },
//     next: [Circular *2]
//   },
//   next: null
// }

//  nothing to see
console.log(newDLL.get(3));
// null

Next Part

We will implement our next method for the Doubly Linked List: set / update a specific node.

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