What are the applications of stacks and queues in programming?

What are the applications of stacks and queues in programming?

Stacks and queues are fundamental data structures used in various applications. Stacks are used in function calls, undo mechanisms, and parsing expressions, while queues are used in scheduling tasks, breadth-first search algorithms, and managing requests in web servers.

Can you give me an example of how a stack is used in a real-world application?

Sure! A common example is the 'undo' feature in text editors. When you perform actions, they are pushed onto a stack. When you hit 'undo', the last action is popped from the stack and reversed.

What about queues? How are they used in real-world scenarios?

Queues are often used in print spooling. When multiple print jobs are sent to a printer, they are queued up in the order they were received, ensuring that each job is processed in a first-come, first-served manner.

Are there any specific algorithms that utilize stacks or queues?

Yes! Depth-first search (DFS) uses a stack, while breadth-first search (BFS) uses a queue. Both are essential for traversing graphs.