How do I properly delete nodes of linked list in C++
Node *current = new Node;
Node *previous = new Node;
This code causes memory leaks - you are never deleting this memory. You can declare pointers without memory allocation:
Node *current = nullptr;
Node *previous = nullptr;
delete
will delete the memory of the pointer so you will actually delete Nodes.
But using delete[] for the Node*
is incorrect, it should be used only for arrays - the memory allocated with new[]
. Improper use leads to undefined behaviour.
So, to properly delete nodes delete them with operator delete.
Use memory leaks detection tools to know are there memory leaks in you program.
The code to delete a list element: say, we have pHead which points to the head of the list (but it would give you much more if you write such things yourself):
Node* pCur = pHead;
Node* pPrev = pCur;
while (pCur && pCur->data != target) {
pPrev = pCur;
pCur = pCur->next;
}
if (pCur==nullptr) // not found
return NOT_FOUND;
if (pCur == pHead) { // first element matches
pHead = pCur->next;
} else {
pPrev->next = pCur->next;
}
// pCur now is excluded from the list
delete pCur; // deallocate its memory
Alternative Using Pointer To Pointer (Community Addition)
The above can take on new light when you use the actual pointers in the list to perform the enumeration. The following starts with pp
being assigned the address of the head pointer (not the node it points to; the actual pointer itself). We walk the list until pp
hold the address of a pointer that is pointing to a node with the target to delete (could be the head pointer, could be a next
pointer in some node, makes no difference). The pointer being addressed is set to its own node's next
value, then the target node is removed.
This really should be watched in a debugger to see how it works, but the algorithm is remarkably simple given what is really going on:
Node **pp = &pHead;
while (*pp && (*pp)->data != target)
pp = &(*pp)->next;
if (*pp)
{
Node *victim = *pp;
*pp = victim->next;
delete victim;
}
Thats all of it. And you get head-node removal without having to special case it for free. Hope this helps as well.