Data Structure and Algorithms -

Stack

Bhabani Shankar Pradhan

A stack is an Abstract Data Type (ADT) that is popularly used in most
programming languages. It is named stack because it has the similar
operations as the real-world stacks, for example – a pack of cards or a pile of
plates, etc.

The stack follows the LIFO (Last in - First out) structure where the last element
inserted would be the first element deleted.

Stack Representation

A Stack ADT allows all data operations at one end only. At any given time, we
can only access the top element of a stack.

The following diagram depicts a stack and its operations −

A stack can be implemented by means of Array, Structure, Pointer, and Linked

List. Stack can either be a fixed size one or it may have a sense of dynamic
resizing. Here, we are going to implement stack using arrays, which makes it a
fixed size stack implementation.

Basic Operations on Stacks

Stack operations usually are performed for initialization, usage and, de-
initialization of the stack ADT.

The most fundamental operations in the stack ADT include: push(), pop(),
peek(), isFull(), isEmpty(). These are all built-in operations to carry out data
manipulation and to check the status of the stack.

Stack uses pointers that always point to the topmost element within the stack,
hence called as the top pointer.

Insertion: push()

push() is an operation that inserts elements into the stack. The following is an
algorithm that describes the push() operation in a simpler way.

Algorithm

1 − Checks if the stack is full.

2 − If the stack is full, produces an error and exit.

3 − If the stack is not full, increments top to point next empty space.

4 − Adds data element to the stack location, where top is pointing.

5 − Returns success.

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

C
#include <stdio.h>

int MAXSIZE = 8;

int stack[8];

int top = -1;

/* Check if the stack is full*/

int isfull(){

if(top == MAXSIZE)

return 1;

else

return 0;

/* Function to insert into the stack */

int push(int data){

if(!isfull()) {

top = top + 1;

stack[top] = data;

} else {
 printf("Could not insert data, Stack is full.\n");

/* Main function */

int main(){

int i;

push(44);

push(10);

push(62);

push(123);

push(15);

printf("Stack Elements: \n");

// print stack data

for(i = 0; i < 8; i++) {

printf("%d ", stack[i]);

return 0;
}

Output

Stack Elements:

44 10 62 123 15 0 0 0

Note − In Java we have used to built-in method push() to perform this

operation.

Deletion: pop()

pop() is a data manipulation operation which removes elements from the

stack. The following pseudo code describes the pop() operation in a simpler
way.

Algorithm

1 − Checks if the stack is empty.

2 − If the stack is empty, produces an error and exit.

3 − If the stack is not empty, accesses the data element at which top is
pointing.

4 − Decreases the value of top by 1.

5 − Returns success.

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

#include <stdio.h>
int MAXSIZE = 8;

int stack[8];

int top = -1;

/* Check if the stack is empty */

int isempty(){

if(top == -1)

return 1;

else

return 0;

/* Check if the stack is full*/

int isfull(){

if(top == MAXSIZE)

return 1;

else

return 0;

}
/* Function to delete from the stack */

int pop(){

int data;

if(!isempty()) {

data = stack[top];

top = top - 1;

return data;

} else {

printf("Could not retrieve data, Stack is empty.\n");

/* Function to insert into the stack */

int push(int data){

if(!isfull()) {

top = top + 1;

stack[top] = data;

} else {
 printf("Could not insert data, Stack is full.\n");

/* Main function */

int main(){

int i;

push(44);

push(10);

push(62);

push(123);

push(15);

printf("Stack Elements: \n");

// print stack data

for(i = 0; i < 8; i++) {

printf("%d ", stack[i]);

/*printf("Element at top of the stack: %d\n" ,peek());*/

 printf("\nElements popped: \n");

// print stack data

while(!isempty()) {

int data = pop();

printf("%d ",data);

return 0;

Output

Stack Elements:

44 10 62 123 15 0 0 0

Elements popped:

15 123 62 10 44

Note − In Java we are using the built-in method pop().

peek()

The peek() is an operation retrieves the topmost element within the stack,
without deleting it. This operation is used to check the status of the stack with
the help of the top pointer.

Algorithm
1. START

2. return the element at the top of the stack

3. END

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

#include <stdio.h>

int MAXSIZE = 8;

int stack[8];

int top = -1;

/* Check if the stack is full */

int isfull(){

if(top == MAXSIZE)

return 1;

else

return 0;

}
/* Function to return the topmost element in the stack */

int peek(){

return stack[top];

/* Function to insert into the stack */

int push(int data){

if(!isfull()) {

top = top + 1;

stack[top] = data;

} else {

printf("Could not insert data, Stack is full.\n");

/* Main function */

int main(){

int i;

push(44);
 push(10);

push(62);

push(123);

push(15);

printf("Stack Elements: \n");

// print stack data

for(i = 0; i < 8; i++) {

printf("%d ", stack[i]);

printf("\nElement at top of the stack: %d\n" ,peek());

return 0;

Output

Stack Elements:

44 10 62 123 15 0 0 0

Element at top of the stack: 15

isFull()

isFull() operation checks whether the stack is full. This operation is used to
check the status of the stack with the help of top pointer.
Algorithm

1. START

2. If the size of the stack is equal to the top position of the stack, the stack is
full. Return 1.

3. Otherwise, return 0.

4. END

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

#include <stdio.h>

int MAXSIZE = 8;

int stack[8];

int top = -1;

/* Check if the stack is full */

int isfull(){

if(top == MAXSIZE)

return 1;

else
 return 0;

/* Main function */

int main(){

printf("Stack full: %s\n" , isfull()?"true":"false");

return 0;

Output

Stack full: false

isEmpty()

The isEmpty() operation verifies whether the stack is empty. This operation is
used to check the status of the stack with the help of top pointer.

Algorithm

1. START

2. If the top value is -1, the stack is empty. Return 1.

3. Otherwise, return 0.

4. END

Example
Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming
languages −

#include <stdio.h>

int MAXSIZE = 8;

int stack[8];

int top = -1;

/* Check if the stack is empty */

int isempty() {

if(top == -1)

return 1;

else

return 0;

/* Main function */

int main() {

printf("Stack empty: %s\n" , isempty()?"true":"false");

return 0;
}

Output

Stack empty: true