ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Linked data structure

A linked data structure is like a chain of links that are all connected together. Each link has some information in it, and it also has a pointer to the next link in the chain.

Imagine you have a bunch of toys in a toy box, and you want to organize them by size. You decide to use a linked data structure to help you do this. You start by taking the biggest toy out of the box, and putting it in the first link. Then, you take the next biggest toy and create a new link for it, and connect it to the first link. You keep doing this until all of the toys are connected together in a chain by their size.

Now, if you want to find a specific toy, you can start at the beginning of the chain and follow the links until you find the toy you're looking for. This is called traversing the linked data structure.

One cool thing about linked data structures is that you can add or remove items from the chain without having to move all of the other items around. For example, if you get a new toy that's bigger than all the other ones, you can just create a new link for it and add it to the beginning of the chain. The other toys will still be connected together by their size, but the new toy will be at the front of the chain.

Overall, linked data structures are a great way to organize and manage data in a flexible and efficient way.