What are the use-cases for a linked list in real-world applications?

Linked lists are used in applications such as image viewing, music player apps, and browser cache implementations.

In more detail, linked lists are a fundamental data structure in computer science, used in a wide variety of real-world applications. They are particularly useful in situations where efficient insertions and deletions are required, as these operations can be performed in constant time, unlike in arrays.

One common use of linked lists is in image viewing applications. When you view a slideshow of images, the application needs to keep track of the order of the images. This is a perfect use-case for a linked list, where each node represents an image, and the 'next' pointer of each node points to the next image in the sequence. This allows the application to easily move forward and backward through the slideshow.

Another application is in music player apps. When you create a playlist, the app needs to keep track of the order of the songs. This can be done using a linked list, where each node represents a song, and the 'next' pointer of each node points to the next song in the playlist. This allows the app to easily move to the next song when one finishes playing, or to move to a previous song if the user requests it.

Browser cache implementations also often use linked lists. When you visit a website, the browser stores some data from the site in its cache, so that it can load the site more quickly in the future. The browser needs to keep track of the order in which sites were visited, so that it can delete the oldest data when the cache becomes full. This can be done using a linked list, where each node represents a site, and the 'next' pointer of each node points to the next site in the sequence.

In summary, linked lists are a versatile data structure that can be used in many different types of applications. They are particularly useful in situations where the order of elements is important, and where efficient insertions and deletions are required.