Implementation of XOR Linked List in Python

Last Updated : 06 Jan, 2023

An ordinary Doubly Linked List requires space for two address fields to store the addresses of previous and next nodes. A memory-efficient version of Doubly Linked List can be created using only one space for the address field with every node. This memory efficient Doubly Linked List is called XOR Linked List or Memory Efficient as the list uses bitwise XOR operation to save space for one address. In the XOR linked list, instead of storing actual memory addresses, every node stores the XOR of addresses of previous and next nodes.

The XOR Linked List implementation in Python is not of much use because the Python garbage collector doesn’t allow to save the node whose address is being XORed.

The functions that are implemented in the below program are:

InsertAtStart(): Method to insert a node at the beginning.
InsertAtEnd(): Method to insert a node at the end.
DeleteAtStart(): Method to delete a node at the beginning.
DeleteAtEnd(): Method to delete a node at the end.
Print(): Method to traverse through the linked list from beginning to end.
ReversePrint(): Method to traverse through the linked list from end to the beginning.
Length(): Method to return the size of the linked list.
PrintByIndex(): Method to return the data value of the node of the linked list specified by a particular index.
isEmpty(): Method to check if the linked list is empty or not.
__type_cast(): Method to return a new instance of type which points to the same memory block.

Below is the complete Python program to implement XOR Linked List with the above methods:

Python3

# import required module
import ctypes
 
 
 
# create node class
class Node:
    def __init__(self, value):
        self.value = value
        self.npx = 0
 
 
         
# create linked list class
class XorLinkedList:
 
    # constructor
    def __init__(self):
        self.head = None
        self.tail = None
        self.__nodes = []
 
    # method to insert node at beginning
    def InsertAtStart(self, value):
        node = Node(value)
        if self.head is None:  # If list is empty
            self.head = node
            self.tail = node
        else:
            self.head.npx = id(node) ^ self.head.npx
            node.npx = id(self.head)
            self.head = node
        self.__nodes.append(node)
 
    # method to insert node at end
    def InsertAtEnd(self, value):
        node = Node(value)
        if self.head is None:  # If list is empty
            self.head = node
            self.tail = node
        else:
            self.tail.npx = id(node) ^ self.tail.npx
            node.npx = id(self.tail)
            self.tail = node
        self.__nodes.append(node)
 
    # method to remove node at beginning
    def DeleteAtStart(self):
        if self.isEmpty():  # If list is empty
            return "List is empty !"
        elif self.head == self.tail:  # If list has 1 node
            self.head = self.tail = None
        elif (0 ^ self.head.npx) == id(self.tail):  # If list has 2 nodes
            self.head = self.tail
            self.head.npx = self.tail.npx = 0
        else:  # If list has more than 2 nodes
            res = self.head.value
            x = self.__type_cast(0 ^ self.head.npx)  # Address of next node
            y = (id(self.head) ^ x.npx)  # Address of next of next node
            self.head = x
            self.head.npx = 0 ^ y
            return res
 
    # method to remove node at end
    def DeleteAtEnd(self):
        if self.isEmpty():  # If list is empty
            return "List is empty !"
        elif self.head == self.tail:  # If list has 1 node
            self.head = self.tail = None
        elif self.__type_cast(0 ^ self.head.npx) == (self.tail):  # If list has 2 nodes
            self.tail = self.head
            self.head.npx = self.tail.npx = 0
        else:  # If list has more than 2 nodes
            prev_id = 0
            node = self.head
            next_id = 1
            while next_id:
                next_id = prev_id ^ node.npx
                if next_id:
                    prev_id = id(node)
                    node = self.__type_cast(next_id)
            res = node.value
            x = self.__type_cast(prev_id).npx ^ id(node)
            y = self.__type_cast(prev_id)
            y.npx = x ^ 0
            self.tail = y
            return res
 
    # method to traverse linked list
    def Print(self):
        """We are printing values rather than returning it because
        for returning we have to append all values in a list
        and it takes extra memory to save all values in a list."""
 
        if self.head != None:
            prev_id = 0
            node = self.head
            next_id = 1
            print(node.value, end=' ')
            while next_id:
                next_id = prev_id ^ node.npx
                if next_id:
                    prev_id = id(node)
                    node = self.__type_cast(next_id)
                    print(node.value, end=' ')
                else:
                    return
        else:
            print("List is empty !")
 
    # method to traverse linked list in reverse order
    def ReversePrint(self):
 
        # Print Values is reverse order.
        """We are printing values rather than returning it because
        for returning we have to append all values in a list
        and it takes extra memory to save all values in a list."""
 
        if self.head != None:
            prev_id = 0
            node = self.tail
            next_id = 1
            print(node.value, end=' ')
            while next_id:
                next_id = prev_id ^ node.npx
                if next_id:
                    prev_id = id(node)
                    node = self.__type_cast(next_id)
                    print(node.value, end=' ')
                else:
                    return
        else:
            print("List is empty !")
 
    # method to get length of linked list
    def Length(self):
        if not self.isEmpty():
            prev_id = 0
            node = self.head
            next_id = 1
            count = 1
            while next_id:
                next_id = prev_id ^ node.npx
                if next_id:
                    prev_id = id(node)
                    node = self.__type_cast(next_id)
                    count += 1
                else:
                    return count
        else:
            return 0
 
    # method to get node data value by index
    def PrintByIndex(self, index):
        prev_id = 0
        node = self.head
        for i in range(index):
            next_id = prev_id ^ node.npx
 
            if next_id:
                prev_id = id(node)
                node = self.__type_cast(next_id)
            else:
                return "Value doesn't found index out of range."
        return node.value
 
    # method to check if the linked list is empty or not
    def isEmpty(self):
        if self.head is None:
            return True
        return False
 
    # method to return a new instance of type
    def __type_cast(self, id):
        return ctypes.cast(id, ctypes.py_object).value
 
 
       
# Driver Code
 
# create object
obj = XorLinkedList()
 
# insert nodes
obj.InsertAtEnd(2)
obj.InsertAtEnd(3)
obj.InsertAtEnd(4)
obj.InsertAtStart(0)
obj.InsertAtStart(6)
obj.InsertAtEnd(55)
 
# display length
print("\nLength:", obj.Length())
 
# traverse
print("\nTraverse linked list:")
obj.Print()
 
print("\nTraverse in reverse order:")
obj.ReversePrint()
 
# display data values by index
print('\nNodes:')
for i in range(obj.Length()):
    print("Data value at index", i, 'is', obj.PrintByIndex(i))
 
# removing nodes
print("\nDelete Last Node: ", obj.DeleteAtEnd())
print("\nDelete First Node: ", obj.DeleteAtStart())
 
# new length
print("\nUpdated length:", obj.Length())
 
# display data values by index
print('\nNodes:')
for i in range(obj.Length()):
    print("Data value at index", i, 'is', obj.PrintByIndex(i))
 
# traverse
print("\nTraverse linked list:")
obj.Print()
 
print("\nTraverse in reverse order:")
obj.ReversePrint()

Output:

Length: 6

Traverse linked list:
6 0 2 3 4 55 
Traverse in reverse order:
55 4 3 2 0 6 
Nodes:
Data value at index 0 is 6
Data value at index 1 is 0
Data value at index 2 is 2
Data value at index 3 is 3
Data value at index 4 is 4
Data value at index 5 is 55

Delete Last Node:  55

Delete First Node:  6

Updated length: 4

Nodes:
Data value at index 0 is 0
Data value at index 1 is 2
Data value at index 2 is 3
Data value at index 3 is 4

Traverse linked list:
0 2 3 4 
Traverse in reverse order:
4 3 2 0

In Python garbage collector collect nodes and decrease the reference count of the object of a node when the object of the node is XORed, Python thinks there is no way to access the node so we used the __in which we store objects of node just for preventing it to become garbage.

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Implementation of XOR Linked List in Python

The functions that are implemented in the below program are:

Python3

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