LeetCode 21: Merge Two Sorted Lists — Step-by-Step Visual Trace

📰 Dev.to · tracelit

Learn to merge two sorted linked lists into one sorted list by following a step-by-step visual trace on LeetCode 21

intermediate Published 9 Apr 2026
Action Steps
  1. Read the problem statement on LeetCode 21 and understand the requirements
  2. Create a new dummy node to serve as the start of the result list
  3. Compare the values of the nodes in the two input lists and append the smaller value to the result list
  4. Repeat the comparison and appending process until one of the lists is exhausted
  5. Append the remaining nodes from the non-exhausted list to the result list
  6. Return the next node of the dummy node as the result
Who Needs to Know This

Software engineers and developers can benefit from this tutorial to improve their problem-solving skills and data structure knowledge, especially when working with linked lists.

Key Insight

💡 Merging two sorted linked lists can be achieved by comparing node values and appending the smaller value to the result list

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📈 Merge two sorted linked lists into one with LeetCode 21! 💻

Key Takeaways

Learn to merge two sorted linked lists into one sorted list by following a step-by-step visual trace on LeetCode 21

Full Article

Merge two sorted linked lists into one sorted linked list by splicing together the nodes of the first two lists.
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