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Deleting linked list nodes recursivly

Vorp (5)
Hello all...

I was looking around the forum for other similar problems but I didn't find anything so I decided to post.

I am creating a Linear linked list in c++. I've written all the functions for it, but now I want to try and do them using recursion.

I managed to make functions for adding and displaying nodes on the list, but I am stuck on the function for removing nodes. First I want to try and write a function the removes the last item on the list. But for some reason my code isn't working properly.

Here is the code :
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void removeLastItem(node * &head)
{
    if(!head)
    {

        delete head;
        head = NULL;
        cout << "\nItem Deleted\n";
        return;
    }
    if(head)
    {
        cout << "\nAdvancing item...";
        removeLastItem(head->next);
        return;
    }
}


NODE - My structure name
NEXT - The pointer to next element.
HEAD - The first (head) pointer.

** The couts in the if statements are just for testing. In fact after I Run my program it does as it is supposed - enters the second if /b]case as many times as there are elements and then executes the first [b]if statement. But for some reason it does not delete the actual node.

Any help is much appreciated
Last edited on
coder777 (8439)
your removeLastItem(...) doesn't do anything.
the if statement on line 3 doesn't make sense. You delete head if it's NULL.

I guess this is what you want:
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void removeLastItem(node * &head)
{
    if(head)
    {
if(head->next)
{
        cout << "\nAdvancing item...";
        removeLastItem(head->next);
}
else
{
        delete head;
        head = NULL;
        cout << "\nItem Deleted\n";
}
    }
}
Vorp (5)
Wow...I am quite new to most of this, and I thought that when head is null it meant there is no next node, and by deleting head I am deleting the current node with its data.

Anyways thanks a lot... your example helped a lot. =)
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