... and generally would be used with an array, the pointers to which are rearranged as the list content changes, rather than moving the entire data set around. It's true that it often leads to much "thrashing" of data, but, as Per has pointed out, it depends much on what the desired outcome would be. Needless to say, without all the relevant information, it's hard to recommend an alternative.

Dynamic memory allocation isn't essential to linked-list structures, but that's where one ordinarily learns about the two when engaged in learning a high level language.

If you have a dataset consisting of a relatively small number of lengthy records, and it's your desire to make access to those records quick and easy, especially as compared with rearranging the entire array each time an element is inserted, deleted, or modified, then the linked list may, indeed, be the structure of choice, particularly since a tree can be implemented as a linked list.

RE