Best way to implement a stack and a singly-linked-list

Question

Which is the best way to implement a stack and a singly-linked-list? Should i have two structs in which the first will contain the structure of a node ( value(s) , pointer ) and the other one the important nodes ( top or head,tail and the size if needed) or should i use only the node struct?

Here is what i mean :

Case 1 :

typedef struct node {
    int value;
    struct node *next;
} Node;

Case 2 (Stack) :

typedef struct node {
int value;
struct node *next;
} Node;

typedef struct stack {
    Node *top;
    /* int size; */
} Stack;

Case 2 (sll) :

typedef struct node {                               
    int value;
    struct node *next;
} Node;

typedef struct list {                               
    Node *head, *tail;
    /* int len; */
} List;

No it's not a homework. I am just a beginner and i want to know which is the best way to code. — vamoirid

Doug Currie Doug Currie · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-27T00:51:29

Your case 2 has the advantage of better type-safety. The C compiler will detect when you use a Node or Stack in place of a List, and so on.

Conversely, when there are functions that could just as well deal with a Stack and a List, you will need specialized versions of them. Of course, they can share a common low level Node based implementation. You have to have a little more administrative overhead for the type-safety, but it is usually worth it.

Best way to implement a stack and a singly-linked-list

1 Answers