Introduction to Stack

Stack
It is a linear data structure that follows a particular order in which the operations are
performed.
LIFO( Last In First Out ):
This strategy states that the element that is inserted last will come out first. You can take a pile
of plates kept on top of each other as a real-life example. The plate which we put last is on the
top and since we remove the plate that is at the top, we can say that the plate that was put last
comes out first.
Basic Operations on Stack
In order to make manipulations in a stack, there are certain operations provided to us.
 push() to insert an element into the stack
 pop() to remove an element from the stack
 top() Returns the top element of the stack.
 isEmpty() returns true is stack is empty else false
 size() returns the size of stack
Push:
Adds an item to the stack. If the stack is full, then it is said to be an Overflow condition.
Algorithm for push:
begin
if stack is full
return
endif
else
increment top
stack[top] assign value
end else
end procedure
Pop:
Removes an item from the stack. The items are popped in the reversed order in which they are
pushed. If the stack is empty, then it is said to be an Underflow condition.
Algorithm for pop:
begin
if stack is empty
return
endif
else
store value of stack[top]
decrement top
return value
end else
end procedure
Top:
Returns the top element of the stack.
Algorithm for Top:
begin
return stack[top]
end procedure
isEmpty:
Returns true if the stack is empty, else false.
Algorithm for isEmpty:
begin
if top < 1
return true
else
return false
end procedure
Understanding stack practically:
There are many real-life examples of a stack. Consider the simple example of plates stacked
over one another in a canteen. The plate which is at the top is the first one to be removed, i.e.
the plate which has been placed at the bottommost position remains in the stack for the longest
period of time. So, it can be simply seen to follow the LIFO/FILO order.
Complexity Analysis:
 Time Complexity

Operations Complexity

push() O(1)

pop() O(1)

isEmpty() O(1)

size() O(1)

Types of Stacks:
 Register Stack: This type of stack is also a memory element present in the memory
unit and can handle a small amount of data only. The height of the register stack is
always limited as the size of the register stack is very small compared to the
memory.
 Memory Stack: This type of stack can handle a large amount of memory data. The
height of the memory stack is flexible as it occupies a large amount of memory
data.
Applications of the stack:
 Infix to Postfix /Prefix conversion
  Redo-undo features at many places like editors, photoshop.
 Forward and backward features in web browsers
 Used in many algorithms like Tower of Hanoi, tree traversals, stock span problems ,
and histogram problems.
 Backtracking is one of the algorithm designing techniques. Some examples of
backtracking are the Knight-Tour problem, N-Queen problem, find your way
through a maze, and game-like chess or checkers in all these problems we dive into
someway if that way is not efficient we come back to the previous state and go into
some another path. To get back from a current state we need to store the previous
state for that purpose we need a stack.
 In Graph Algorithms like Topological Sorting and Strongly Connected Components
 In Memory management, any modern computer uses a stack as the primary
management for a running purpose. Each program that is running in a computer
system has its own memory allocations
 String reversal is also another application of stack. Here one by one each character
gets inserted into the stack. So the first character of the string is on the bottom of
the stack and the last element of a string is on the top of the stack. After Performing
the pop operations on the stack we get a string in reverse order.
Implementation of Stack:
There are two ways to implement a stack
Using array
Using linked list
Implementing Stack using Arrays:

* C++ program to implement basic stack

operations */
#include <bits/stdc++.h>

using namespace std;

#define MAX 1000

class Stack {
int top;

public:
int a[MAX]; // Maximum size of Stack
 Stack() { top = -1; }
bool push(int x);
int pop();
int peek();
bool isEmpty();
};

bool Stack::push(int x)
{
if (top >= (MAX - 1)) {
cout << "Stack Overflow";
return false;
}
else {
a[++top] = x;
cout << x << " pushed into stack\n";
return true;
}
}

int Stack::pop()
{
if (top < 0) {
cout << "Stack Underflow";
return 0;
}
 else {
int x = a[top--];
return x;
}
}
int Stack::peek()
{
if (top < 0) {
cout << "Stack is Empty";
return 0;
}
else {
int x = a[top];
return x;
}
}

bool Stack::isEmpty()
{
return (top < 0);
}

// Driver program to test above functions

int main()
{
class Stack s;
s.push(10);
 s.push(20);
s.push(30);
cout << s.pop() << " Popped from stack\n";

//print top element of stack after poping

cout << "Top element is : " << s.peek() << endl;

//print all elements in stack :

cout <<"Elements present in stack : ";
while(!s.isEmpty())
{
// print top element in stack
cout << s.peek() <<" ";
// remove top element in stack
s.pop();
}

return 0;
}

Output
10 pushed into stack
20 pushed into stack
30 pushed into stack
30 Popped from stack
Top element is : 20
Elements present in stack : 20 10
Advantages of array implementation:
 Easy to implement.
 Memory is saved as pointers are not involved.
Disadvantages of array implementation:
 It is not dynamic.
 It doesn’t grow and shrink depending on needs at runtime.
Implementing Stack using Linked List:

// C++ program for linked list implementation of stack

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

// A structure to represent a stack

class StackNode {
public:
int data;
StackNode* next;
};

StackNode* newNode(int data)

{
StackNode* stackNode = new StackNode();
stackNode->data = data;
stackNode->next = NULL;
return stackNode;
}

int isEmpty(StackNode* root)

{
return !root;
}

void push(StackNode** root, int data)

{
StackNode* stackNode = newNode(data);
stackNode->next = *root;
*root = stackNode;
cout << data << " pushed to stack\n";
}

int pop(StackNode** root)

{
if (isEmpty(*root))
return INT_MIN;
StackNode* temp = *root;
*root = (*root)->next;
int popped = temp->data;
free(temp);

return popped;
}

int peek(StackNode* root)

{
if (isEmpty(root))
return INT_MIN;
return root->data;
}

// Driver code
 int main()
{
StackNode* root = NULL;

push(&root, 10);
push(&root, 20);
push(&root, 30);

cout << pop(&root) << " popped from stack\n";

cout << "Top element is " << peek(root) << endl;

cout <<"Elements present in stack : ";

//print all elements in stack :
while(!isEmpty(root))
{
// print top element in stack
cout << peek(root) <<" ";
// remove top element in stack
pop(&root);
}

return 0;
}

// This is code is contributed by rathbhupendra

Output
10 pushed to stack
20 pushed to stack
30 pushed to stack
30 popped from stack
Top element is 20
Elements present in stack : 20 10
Advantages of Linked List implementation:

 The linked list implementation of a stack can grow and shrink according to the
needs at runtime.
 It is used in many virtual machines like JVM.
 Stacks are more secure and reliable as they do not get corrupted easily.
 Stack cleans up the objects automatically.
Disadvantages of Linked List implementation:

 Requires extra memory due to the involvement of pointers.

 Random accessing is not possible in stack.
 The total size of the stack must be defined before.
 If the stack falls outside the memory it can lead to abnormal termination.