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Computer Science Introduction to Data Structures Building a Linked List Linked Lists Operations

Posted by Stacy Davis
Stacy Davis
5,410 Points

Time Complexity for Insertion in Different Languages

The videos state that in Python, the time complexity for Insertion on a Linked List is O(n) because of the need to search. When I look at Big O Notation cheat sheets, they state the average and worst time complexity for an insertion or deletion of a Single Linked or Doubly Linked List is O(1).

Is the time complexity expected to be different in all or most languages?

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points

Complexity is a conceptual issue, and should not differ between languages.

If you look carefully at the code comments, you'll see this: "Insertion takes O(1) time but finding node at insertion point takes O(n) time.".

My guess is that the cheat sheets you found are only considering the basic insertion time.