The Stack

Last In, First Out

 The Stack
• A dynamic-sized data structure
– Elements can only be added to the top (push)
– Elements can only be removed from the top (pop)
– Only the top element can be accessed individually (peek)
• LIFO order (Last In, First Out)
– The last element pushed onto the stack will be the first
element popped off of the stack.
 Last In, First Out
Item add order: top

s
Item remove order:
 Last In, First Out
Item add order: A top

s.push(“A”);

s
Item remove order:
 Last In, First Out
Item add order: A, B top

s.push(“A”);
s.push(“B”);

s
Item remove order:
 Last In, First Out
Item add order: A, B, C top

s.push(“A”);
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“C”); C

s
Item remove order:
 Last In, First Out
Item add order: A, B, C top

s.push(“A”);
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“C”);
s.pop(); B

s
Item remove order: C
 Last In, First Out
Item add order: A, B, C top

s.push(“A”);
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“C”);
s.pop();
s.pop(); A

s
Item remove order: C, B
 Last In, First Out
Item add order: A, B, C top

s.push(“A”);
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“C”);
s.pop();
s.pop();
s.pop();
s
Item remove order: C, B, A
 A Stack Interface
public interface Stackable<anyType>
{
public void push(anyType x); //add x to the top

public anyType pop(); //remove and return the top

//return null if empty or throw exception

public anyType peek(); //return the top element

//return null if empty or throw exception

public boolean isEmpty(); //true if empty

public int size(); //returns the number of elements

}
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”);
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”);
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
s.push(“B”); W
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”); *
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W W *
s.push(“B”); *
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W W *
s.push(“B”); *
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek();
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”); *
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek(); OUTPUT
W
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”); *
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek(); OUTPUT
W
s.push(t2);
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek(); OUTPUT
W
s.push(t2); *
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”); *
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek(); OUTPUT
W
s.push(t2); *
s.push(temp);
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”);
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek(); OUTPUT
W
s.push(t2); *
s.push(temp); *

while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”);
B
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek(); OUTPUT
W
s.push(t2); *
s.push(temp); *

while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Stack mechanics
MyStack<String> s = new MyStack(); top temp t2
W *
s.push(“B”);
s.push(“*”);
s.push(“W”);
String temp = s.pop();
String t2 = s.peek(); OUTPUT
W
s.push(t2); *
s.push(temp); *
B
while(!s.isEmpty())
System.out.println(s.pop());
 Creating the MyStack
public class MyStack<anyType> implements Stackable<anyType>
{
private List<anyType> list;
public MyStack()
{
list = new ArrayList(); //could also be a Linked List
}
//now define interface methods and a toString method
}