What is the process for deleting a node from a linked list?

To delete a node from a linked list, you need to adjust the pointers of the adjacent nodes to bypass the node to be deleted.

In a linked list, each node contains a data element and a reference (or link) to the next node in the sequence. When you want to delete a node, you essentially need to remove its existence from this sequence. This is done by adjusting the pointers of the nodes that come before and after the node to be deleted, so they no longer point to it.

Let's consider a simple scenario where you have a singly linked list and you want to delete a node. First, you need to locate the node that you want to delete. This is typically done by traversing the list from the start node, comparing each node's data with the data you want to delete. Once you've found the node, you then need to adjust the 'next' pointer of the previous node so it points to the node after the one to be deleted, effectively bypassing it.

In the case of a doubly linked list, the process is slightly more complex because each node has two pointers: one to the next node and one to the previous node. To delete a node, you need to adjust both the 'next' pointer of the previous node and the 'previous' pointer of the next node. This way, both nodes will bypass the node to be deleted, and it will no longer exist in the sequence.

It's important to note that once a node is deleted, any reference to it should also be removed to prevent memory leaks. In some programming languages, this might involve explicitly deallocating the memory used by the node.

In summary, deleting a node from a linked list involves locating the node, adjusting the pointers of the adjacent nodes to bypass it, and then removing any references to it to free up memory. This process demonstrates the dynamic nature of linked lists, where nodes can be easily inserted and removed without reorganising the entire data structure.