Talk about bending over backward to use a linked list when a binary search tree would easily solve the problem.

Let's start by figuring out which part of the task is giving you trouble. Do you know what a linked list is? Have you ever written one? Start by inserting a few numbers in a linked list without trying to get it sorted and without trying to remove duplicates. Post your code when you get that part done and we'll move on to the next stage.

>The trouble that i am having is how to incorporate the random number generator into a linked list
You already have a random number generator, it's as simple as doing this:

C++ Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)

int i;
 
for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ )
  list = list_insert ( list, rand() % 5 + 1 );

int i; for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) list = list_insert ( list, rand() % 5 + 1 );

So the random number part isn't a problem.

>and no i have never written a linked list
This is your biggest problem right now. First you need to figure out how to make a linked list, then you need to figure out how to make it sorted. Here's a really big hint:

C++ Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
 
struct node {
  int data;
  struct node *next;
};
 
struct node *push_front ( struct node *list, int data )
{
  struct node *p = malloc ( sizeof *p );
 
  if ( p != NULL ) {
    p->data = data;
    p->next = list;
    list = p;
  }
 
  return list;
}
 
int main ( void )
{
  struct node *list = NULL;
  struct node *save;
  int i;
 
  for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ )
    list = push_front ( list, rand() % 5 + 1 );
 
  while ( list != NULL ) {
    save = list->next;
    printf ( "%d ", list->data );
    free ( list );
    list = save;
  }
 
  printf ( "\n" );
 
  return 0;
}

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> struct node { int data; struct node *next; }; struct node *push_front ( struct node *list, int data ) { struct node *p = malloc ( sizeof *p ); if ( p != NULL ) { p->data = data; p->next = list; list = p; } return list; } int main ( void ) { struct node *list = NULL; struct node *save; int i; for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) list = push_front ( list, rand() % 5 + 1 ); while ( list != NULL ) { save = list->next; printf ( "%d ", list->data ); free ( list ); list = save; } printf ( "\n" ); return 0; }

This code inserts each new number onto the front of the list. It's a simple matter to walk through the list and find the sorted location. See if you can do it.