Stack Data Structure: Last In First Out (LIFO) Overview Quiz and Flashcards

Study Notes

Stack Data Structure

A stack is a linear data structure that follows the Last In First Out (LIFO) or First In Last Out (FIFO) principle. It is an abstract data type (ADT) commonly used in programming languages.

Key Features

Access: Access to data is limited to the top element only.
Insertion and Deletion: Both operations occur at the top of the stack.

Operations

Push: Inserting a new element into the top of the stack.
Pop: Removing an element from the top of the stack.
Peek or Top: Accessing the top element without removing it.
IsEmpty: Check if the stack is empty.
Size: Get the current size of the stack.

Real-Life Examples

Real-life examples include piles of books, decks of cards, or stacks of plates. These examples illustrate the principle that elements are accessed from one end only and can be manipulated with operations like push, pop, peek, or top.

Applications

Stacks have various applications including function calls in programming languages, parentheses checking, string reversals, syntax parsing by compilers, memory management, and more.

Implementations

To implement a stack, you need to store elements in contiguous memory (arrays) or non-contiguous memory (linked lists). In modern programming languages, built-in functions make the process easier. For example, in Java, you can use the push() method for insertion and the pop() method for removal.

Description

Learn about the stack data structure, an abstract data type (ADT) that follows the Last In First Out (LIFO) or First In Last Out (FIFO) principle. Explore its key features, operations like push and pop, real-life examples, applications in programming and implementations in modern languages.