why is the struct node* current declared and pass the head pointer? Could we just use the struct node* head to walk through the list?Code:// Return the number of nodes in a list (while-loop version) int Length(struct node* head) { int count = 0; struct node* current = head; while (current != NULL) { count++; current = current->next } return(count); }
Yes you could, in this example.
But for a more complicated function, it might be useful to always know where head is.
If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.
Yes, you could just use “head” to walk the list.Originally Posted by danieldcc
Perhaps the author didn't like using one name for two semantically distinct entities (even if, technically, they're the same thing). That is, once you do head = head->next it's no longer the head (of the original list) and so is “wrong”.
Perhaps the author planned on needing the original value after running through the list, although that's not too likely for this function.
Perhaps the author simply didn't think about the fact that a new variable wasn't needed.
The end result is, you're right, there's no technical need to do what was done; to know why it was done, you'd have to ask the author.
Wow, great, I think some of this stuff is finally starting to sink in...thank you.
you could just declare your struct as a constant in the parameters and then you could just use "current" correct?
