What are the performance differences between queues and stacks?

What are the performance differences between queues and stacks?

Queues and stacks are both data structures, but they have different performance characteristics. Stacks use LIFO (Last In, First Out) while queues use FIFO (First In, First Out). This affects their performance in various operations.

Can you explain the time complexity for common operations?

Sure! For stacks, push and pop operations have a time complexity of O(1). For queues, enqueue and dequeue operations also have a time complexity of O(1). However, if you implement a queue using two stacks, the dequeue operation can take O(n) in the worst case.

Which one is more efficient for memory usage?

Both structures can be efficient in terms of memory usage, but it depends on the implementation. Generally, stacks may have a slight edge due to their simpler structure, but the difference is often negligible.

In what scenarios would you prefer one over the other?

You would prefer a stack for scenarios like backtracking algorithms or function call management, while queues are ideal for scheduling tasks or handling requests in order.