When to Use Linkedlist Over Arraylist in Java

When to use LinkedList over ArrayList in Java?

Summary ArrayList with ArrayDeque are preferable in many more use-cases than LinkedList. If you're not sure — just start with ArrayList.

---

TLDR, in ArrayList accessing an element takes constant time [O(1)] and adding an element takes O(n) time [worst case]. In LinkedList inserting an element takes O(n) time and accessing also takes O(n) time but LinkedList uses more memory than ArrayList.

LinkedList and ArrayList are two different implementations of the List interface. LinkedList implements it with a doubly-linked list. ArrayList implements it with a dynamically re-sizing array.

As with standard linked list and array operations, the various methods will have different algorithmic runtimes.

For LinkedList<E>

• get(int index) is O(n) (with n/4 steps on average), but O(1) when index = 0 or index = list.size() - 1 (in this case, you can also use getFirst() and getLast()). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• add(int index, E element) is O(n) (with n/4 steps on average), but O(1) when index = 0 or index = list.size() - 1 (in this case, you can also use addFirst() and addLast()/add()). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• remove(int index) is O(n) (with n/4 steps on average), but O(1) when index = 0 or index = list.size() - 1 (in this case, you can also use removeFirst() and removeLast()). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• Iterator.remove() is O(1). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• ListIterator.add(E element) is O(1). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>

^{Note: Many of the operations need n/4 steps on average, constant number of steps in the best case (e.g. index = 0), and n/2 steps in worst case (middle of list)}

For ArrayList<E>

• get(int index) is O(1). Main benefit of ArrayList<E>
• add(E element) is O(1) amortized, but O(n) worst-case since the array must be resized and copied
• add(int index, E element) is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)
• remove(int index) is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)
• Iterator.remove() is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)
• ListIterator.add(E element) is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)

^{Note: Many of the operations need n/2 steps on average, constant number of steps in the best case (end of list), n steps in the worst case (start of list)}

LinkedList<E> allows for constant-time insertions or removals using iterators, but only sequential access of elements. In other words, you can walk the list forwards or backwards, but finding a position in the list takes time proportional to the size of the list. Javadoc says "operations that index into the list will traverse the list from the beginning or the end, whichever is closer", so those methods are O(n) (n/4 steps) on average, though O(1) for index = 0.

ArrayList<E>, on the other hand, allow fast random read access, so you can grab any element in constant time. But adding or removing from anywhere but the end requires shifting all the latter elements over, either to make an opening or fill the gap. Also, if you add more elements than the capacity of the underlying array, a new array (1.5 times the size) is allocated, and the old array is copied to the new one, so adding to an ArrayList is O(n) in the worst case but constant on average.

So depending on the operations you intend to do, you should choose the implementations accordingly. Iterating over either kind of List is practically equally cheap. (Iterating over an ArrayList is technically faster, but unless you're doing something really performance-sensitive, you shouldn't worry about this -- they're both constants.)

The main benefits of using a LinkedList arise when you re-use existing iterators to insert and remove elements. These operations can then be done in O(1) by changing the list locally only. In an array list, the remainder of the array needs to be moved (i.e. copied). On the other side, seeking in a LinkedList means following the links in O(n) (n/2 steps) for worst case, whereas in an ArrayList the desired position can be computed mathematically and accessed in O(1).

Another benefit of using a LinkedList arises when you add or remove from the head of the list, since those operations are O(1), while they are O(n) for ArrayList. Note that ArrayDeque may be a good alternative to LinkedList for adding and removing from the head, but it is not a List.

Also, if you have large lists, keep in mind that memory usage is also different. Each element of a LinkedList has more overhead since pointers to the next and previous elements are also stored. ArrayLists don't have this overhead. However, ArrayLists take up as much memory as is allocated for the capacity, regardless of whether elements have actually been added.

The default initial capacity of an ArrayList is pretty small (10 from Java 1.4 - 1.8). But since the underlying implementation is an array, the array must be resized if you add a lot of elements. To avoid the high cost of resizing when you know you're going to add a lot of elements, construct the ArrayList with a higher initial capacity.

If the data structures perspective is used to understand the two structures, a LinkedList is basically a sequential data structure which contains a head Node. The Node is a wrapper for two components : a value of type T [accepted through generics] and another reference to the Node linked to it. So, we can assert it is a recursive data structure (a Node contains another Node which has another Node and so on...). Addition of elements takes linear time in LinkedList as stated above.

An ArrayList is a growable array. It is just like a regular array. Under the hood, when an element is added, and the ArrayList is already full to capacity, it creates another array with a size which is greater than previous size. The elements are then copied from previous array to new one and the elements that are to be added are also placed at the specified indices.

When to use a linked list over an array/array list?

Linked lists are preferable over arrays when:

1. you need constant-time insertions/deletions from the list (such as in real-time computing where time predictability is absolutely critical)

2. you don't know how many items will be in the list. With arrays, you may need to re-declare and copy memory if the array grows too big

3. you don't need random access to any elements

4. you want to be able to insert items in the middle of the list (such as a priority queue)

Arrays are preferable when:

1. you need indexed/random access to elements

2. you know the number of elements in the array ahead of time so that you can allocate the correct amount of memory for the array

3. you need speed when iterating through all the elements in sequence. You can use pointer math on the array to access each element, whereas you need to lookup the node based on the pointer for each element in linked list, which may result in page faults which may result in performance hits.

4. memory is a concern. Filled arrays take up less memory than linked lists. Each element in the array is just the data. Each linked list node requires the data as well as one (or more) pointers to the other elements in the linked list.

Array Lists (like those in .Net) give you the benefits of arrays, but dynamically allocate resources for you so that you don't need to worry too much about list size and you can delete items at any index without any effort or re-shuffling elements around. Performance-wise, arraylists are slower than raw arrays.

When to use ArrayList, LinkedList, and Stack in Java?

As ArrayList and LinkedList both implement List interface. They are very similar to use. Their main difference is their implementation which causes different performance for different operations. ArrayList is implemented as a resizable array. As more elements are added to ArrayList, its size is increased dynamically. It's elements can be accessed directly by using the get and set methods, since ArrayList is essentially an array. LinkedList is implemented as a double linked list. Its performance on add and remove is better than ArrayList, but worse on get and set methods. So basically when you working with data that needs to be frequently added or removed from the list you would like to go for the LinkedList.

Performance differences between ArrayList and LinkedList

ArrayList is faster than LinkedList if I randomly access its elements. I think random access means "give me the nth element". Why ArrayList is faster?

ArrayList has direct references to every element in the list, so it can get the n-th element in constant time. LinkedList has to traverse the list from the beginning to get to the n-th element.

LinkedList is faster than ArrayList for deletion. I understand this one. ArrayList's slower since the internal backing-up array needs to be reallocated.

ArrayList is slower because it needs to copy part of the array in order to remove the slot that has become free. If the deletion is done using the ListIterator.remove() API, LinkedList just has to manipulate a couple of references; if the deletion is done by value or by index, LinkedList has to potentially scan the entire list first to find the element(s) to be deleted.

If it means move some elements back and then put the element in the middle empty spot, ArrayList should be slower.

Yes, this is what it means. ArrayList is indeed slower than LinkedList because it has to free up a slot in the middle of the array. This involves moving some references around and in the worst case reallocating the entire array. LinkedList just has to manipulate some references.

When to use LinkedList over ArrayList in Java?

Summary ArrayList with ArrayDeque are preferable in many more use-cases than LinkedList. If you're not sure — just start with ArrayList.

---

TLDR, in ArrayList accessing an element takes constant time [O(1)] and adding an element takes O(n) time [worst case]. In LinkedList inserting an element takes O(n) time and accessing also takes O(n) time but LinkedList uses more memory than ArrayList.

LinkedList and ArrayList are two different implementations of the List interface. LinkedList implements it with a doubly-linked list. ArrayList implements it with a dynamically re-sizing array.

As with standard linked list and array operations, the various methods will have different algorithmic runtimes.

For LinkedList<E>

• get(int index) is O(n) (with n/4 steps on average), but O(1) when index = 0 or index = list.size() - 1 (in this case, you can also use getFirst() and getLast()). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• add(int index, E element) is O(n) (with n/4 steps on average), but O(1) when index = 0 or index = list.size() - 1 (in this case, you can also use addFirst() and addLast()/add()). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• remove(int index) is O(n) (with n/4 steps on average), but O(1) when index = 0 or index = list.size() - 1 (in this case, you can also use removeFirst() and removeLast()). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• Iterator.remove() is O(1). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>
• ListIterator.add(E element) is O(1). One of the main benefits of LinkedList<E>

^{Note: Many of the operations need n/4 steps on average, constant number of steps in the best case (e.g. index = 0), and n/2 steps in worst case (middle of list)}

For ArrayList<E>

• get(int index) is O(1). Main benefit of ArrayList<E>
• add(E element) is O(1) amortized, but O(n) worst-case since the array must be resized and copied
• add(int index, E element) is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)
• remove(int index) is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)
• Iterator.remove() is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)
• ListIterator.add(E element) is O(n) (with n/2 steps on average)

^{Note: Many of the operations need n/2 steps on average, constant number of steps in the best case (end of list), n steps in the worst case (start of list)}

LinkedList<E> allows for constant-time insertions or removals using iterators, but only sequential access of elements. In other words, you can walk the list forwards or backwards, but finding a position in the list takes time proportional to the size of the list. Javadoc says "operations that index into the list will traverse the list from the beginning or the end, whichever is closer", so those methods are O(n) (n/4 steps) on average, though O(1) for index = 0.

ArrayList<E>, on the other hand, allow fast random read access, so you can grab any element in constant time. But adding or removing from anywhere but the end requires shifting all the latter elements over, either to make an opening or fill the gap. Also, if you add more elements than the capacity of the underlying array, a new array (1.5 times the size) is allocated, and the old array is copied to the new one, so adding to an ArrayList is O(n) in the worst case but constant on average.

So depending on the operations you intend to do, you should choose the implementations accordingly. Iterating over either kind of List is practically equally cheap. (Iterating over an ArrayList is technically faster, but unless you're doing something really performance-sensitive, you shouldn't worry about this -- they're both constants.)

The main benefits of using a LinkedList arise when you re-use existing iterators to insert and remove elements. These operations can then be done in O(1) by changing the list locally only. In an array list, the remainder of the array needs to be moved (i.e. copied). On the other side, seeking in a LinkedList means following the links in O(n) (n/2 steps) for worst case, whereas in an ArrayList the desired position can be computed mathematically and accessed in O(1).

Another benefit of using a LinkedList arises when you add or remove from the head of the list, since those operations are O(1), while they are O(n) for ArrayList. Note that ArrayDeque may be a good alternative to LinkedList for adding and removing from the head, but it is not a List.

Also, if you have large lists, keep in mind that memory usage is also different. Each element of a LinkedList has more overhead since pointers to the next and previous elements are also stored. ArrayLists don't have this overhead. However, ArrayLists take up as much memory as is allocated for the capacity, regardless of whether elements have actually been added.

The default initial capacity of an ArrayList is pretty small (10 from Java 1.4 - 1.8). But since the underlying implementation is an array, the array must be resized if you add a lot of elements. To avoid the high cost of resizing when you know you're going to add a lot of elements, construct the ArrayList with a higher initial capacity.

If the data structures perspective is used to understand the two structures, a LinkedList is basically a sequential data structure which contains a head Node. The Node is a wrapper for two components : a value of type T [accepted through generics] and another reference to the Node linked to it. So, we can assert it is a recursive data structure (a Node contains another Node which has another Node and so on...). Addition of elements takes linear time in LinkedList as stated above.

An ArrayList is a growable array. It is just like a regular array. Under the hood, when an element is added, and the ArrayList is already full to capacity, it creates another array with a size which is greater than previous size. The elements are then copied from previous array to new one and the elements that are to be added are also placed at the specified indices.

Why does ArrayList seriously outperform LinkedList?

From LinkedList source code:

/**
 * Appends the specified element to the end of this list.
 *
 * <p>This method is equivalent to {@link #addLast}.
 *
 * @param e element to be appended to this list
 * @return {@code true} (as specified by {@link Collection#add})
 */
public boolean add(E e) {
    linkLast(e);
    return true;
}

/**
 * Links e as last element.
 */
void linkLast(E e) {
    final Node<E> l = last;
    final Node<E> newNode = new Node<>(l, e, null);
    last = newNode;
    if (l == null)
        first = newNode;
    else
        l.next = newNode;
    size++;
    modCount++;
}

From ArrayList source code:

/**
 * Appends the specified element to the end of this list.
 *
 * @param e element to be appended to this list
 * @return <tt>true</tt> (as specified by {@link Collection#add})
 */
public boolean add(E e) {
    ensureCapacityInternal(size + 1);  // Increments modCount!!
    elementData[size++] = e;
    return true;
}

 private void ensureExplicitCapacity(int minCapacity) {
    modCount++;

    // overflow-conscious code
    if (minCapacity - elementData.length > 0)
        grow(minCapacity);
}

So linked list has to create new node for each element added, while array list does not. ArrayList does not reallocate/resize for each new element, so most of time array list simply set object in array and increment size, while linked list does much more work.

You also commented:

When I wrote a linked list in college, I allocated blocks at a time and then farmed them out.

I do not think this would work in Java. You cannot do pointer tricks in Java, so you would have to allocate a lot of small arrays, or create empty nodes ahead. In both cases overhead would probably be a bit higher.

---

Related Topics