Demystifying Linked Lists: A Practical Approach

Finally understand linked lists without the academic jargon. Learn how they work and how to code them—in Swift

What you'll learn
- Understand the structure and behavior of singly linked lists and how they differ from arrays in memory management and traversal.
- Create linked list nodes using Swift generics, allowing for reusable, type-safe data structures.
- Implement common linked list operations including insertion, deletion, and traversal from scratch.
- Reverse a singly linked list in-place, using pointer manipulation and without additional data structures.
- Detect and handle cycles in a linked list using Floyd’s Cycle Detection Algorithm (Tortoise and Hare approach).
- Find the middle node of a linked list efficiently with fast and slow pointers.
- Remove the nth node from the end of a linked list using a one-pass two-pointer technique.
- Check whether a linked list is a palindrome by reversing and comparing segments of the list.
- Merge two sorted linked lists in linear time without creating new nodes.
- Apply Swift’s reference type behavior to safely and effectively manipulate linked list nodes and avoid common pointer errors.

Requirements
- Basic familiarity with the Swift programming language, including variable declarations and data types.
- Understanding of Swift control flow, such as if, while, and for statements.
- Knowledge of functions in Swift, including how to define and call them.
- Understanding of classes and objects, especially how reference types behave in Swift.
- Experience working with optional values and optional chaining in Swift.
- Basic understanding of generics (e.g., ListNode<T>), or willingness to learn them early in the course.
- Comfort using Xcode or Swift Playgrounds for writing and testing Swift code.
- Ability to read and trace simple Swift programs, especially those involving loops and conditionals.
- Willingness to learn about memory references and pointers, as they relate to linked list behavior.
- A macOS environment with Xcode installed, or access to an alternative Swift compiler for practice.

Description
Tired of Linked List tutorials that talkatyou instead oftoyou?

Most courses on data structures are designed by incredibly smart, highly academic instructors—who unfortunately seem more interested in proving how much they know than helping you actually learn. They talk over your head, breeze past the hard parts, and leave you wondering if you're the problem. You're not.

This course is different.

This is a course built for developers who want clarity, not confusion.

I’ve been where you are. I’ve watched those same videos that make linked lists sound way more complicated than they need to be. That’s why this course was created—for real people who want to really understand how linked lists work, in a way that makes sense.

We’ll go step-by-step, building each concept from scratch, writing Swift code you’ll actually use. You’ll learn how to:

Create and traverse a linked list

Insert, delete, and reverse nodes

Use pointer logic without needing a degree in computer science

Solve interview-style problems using practical Swift solutions

By the end, you'll not only understand linked lists—you’ll be confident building them.

This course is for learners, not show-offs.If you’ve ever felt left behind by other tutorials, give this one a try. You deserve to learn in a space where your growth matters more than someone else’s credentials.

Who this course is for:
- Beginner to intermediate Swift developers looking to strengthen their understanding of data structures.
- iOS developers preparing for technical interviews that include algorithm and data structure questions.
- Computer science students who want to practice linked list problems using Swift rather than lower-level languages.
- Self-taught programmers building a solid foundation in how data is stored and managed in memory.
- Developers transitioning from other languages to Swift who want to deepen their understanding of reference types and pointer-like behavior.
- Anyone studying for coding interviews at companies that test core algorithmic skills.
- Swift learners building their first portfolio of algorithms, such as reversals, merges, and search techniques.
- Educators and tutors seeking a clear and practical example of teaching data structures with a modern language.
- iOS bootcamp participants who need a deeper dive into algorithmic problem solving outside of UIKit or SwiftUI.
- Developers interested in writing more efficient Swift code, particularly by understanding the memory and performance implications of list-based structures.
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