What are the differences between stacks and queues in data structures?

What are the differences between stacks and queues in data structures?

Stacks and queues are both abstract data types used to store collections of elements. A stack follows the Last In First Out (LIFO) principle, meaning the last element added is the first one to be removed. In contrast, a queue follows the First In First Out (FIFO) principle, where the first element added is the first one to be removed.

Can you give me examples of where to use stacks and queues?

Sure! Stacks are often used in scenarios like undo mechanisms in text editors or for parsing expressions. Queues are commonly used in scenarios like task scheduling or handling requests in a web server.

What are some common operations for stacks and queues?

Common operations for stacks include push (adding an element), pop (removing the top element), and peek (viewing the top element). For queues, common operations are enqueue (adding an element to the back), dequeue (removing the front element), and front (viewing the front element).

How do you implement a stack and a queue in Python?

In Python, you can implement a stack using a list with append() and pop() methods. For a queue, you can use collections.deque for efficient appends and pops from both ends.