Algorithm Design Questions
The stack data structure is a linear data structure that follows the Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) principle. It can be visualized as a stack of objects, where the last object added is the first one to be removed.
The stack has two main operations:
1. Push: This operation adds an element to the top of the stack. It increases the stack size by one and places the new element at the top.
2. Pop: This operation removes the top element from the stack. It decreases the stack size by one and returns the removed element.
In addition to these basic operations, there are two more operations commonly associated with stacks:
3. Peek or Top: This operation returns the top element of the stack without removing it.
4. IsEmpty: This operation checks if the stack is empty or not. It returns true if the stack is empty, and false otherwise.
Stacks are widely used in various algorithms and applications. Some common examples include function call stack in programming languages, undo/redo functionality in text editors, and backtracking algorithms.