What is a linked list in programming?

A linked list is a linear data structure that is used to store elements of different data types. It is made up of nodes, where each node contains a data element and a reference pointer that points to the next node in the list. Linked lists provide an efficient way to insert or delete elements in a sequence because they do not require moving other elements around.

There are two main types of linked lists: singly linked lists and doubly linked lists. In a singly linked list, each node has a reference point to the next node in the list. In a doubly linked list, each node has reference pointers to both the next and previous nodes in the list.

Linked lists are commonly used in dynamic memory allocation, hash tables, and graph representations. They are also used in many popular programming languages such as C, C++, and Java.