How do you insert a node into a singly linked list?

To insert a node into a singly linked list, you need to adjust the pointers of the existing nodes and the new node.

A singly linked list is a type of data structure where each node contains a data element and a reference (or pointer) to the next node in the sequence. To insert a new node, you need to follow a few steps.

Firstly, you need to create a new node. This involves allocating memory for the new node and setting its data value. The next pointer of the new node should initially be set to null.

Next, you need to decide where in the list the new node should be inserted. If the list is empty, the new node becomes the head of the list. If the list is not empty and you want to insert the new node at the beginning of the list, you need to set the next pointer of the new node to the current head of the list, and then update the head of the list to be the new node.

If you want to insert the new node at a specific position in the list, you need to traverse the list until you reach the desired position. This involves starting at the head of the list and following the next pointers until you reach the node that will be before the new node in the list. You then set the next pointer of the new node to the node that was previously in the desired position, and set the next pointer of the node that is before the new node to the new node.

If you want to insert the new node at the end of the list, you need to traverse the list until you reach the last node. You then set the next pointer of the last node to the new node.

In all cases, you need to be careful to properly handle the pointers to ensure that no nodes are lost and that the list remains properly linked. It's also important to remember that the operations of creating a new node and adjusting pointers should be done atomically to prevent other threads from seeing the list in an inconsistent state if you're working in a multithreaded environment.