Learn Stack Data Structure with Animation - Interactive Learning
Master Stack (LIFO) - DSA Learning Platform 📚 Master Stack (LIFO) Beginner Friendly Learn stack operations with interactive animations and memory visualization 📖 Understanding Stack Data Structure Introduction Memory Layout Operations Applications What is a Stack? A Stack is a linear data structure that follows the LIFO (Last In First Out) principle. Think of it like a stack of plates - you can only add or remove plates from the top. The element added last will be the first one to be removed. This makes stacks perfect for scenarios where you need to track history or reverse operations. Stack vs Array While arrays allow random access to elements, stacks restrict access to only the top element. This constraint makes stacks more efficient for specific use cases like undo operations or parsing expressions. 🔑 Key Characteristics LIFO (Last In First Out) ordering Only top element is accessible Push adds element to top Pop removes element from top All operations are O(1) time Can be implemented using arrays or linked lists How Stack Works in Memory In a linked list implementation, each stack node contains: Data: The actual value stored Next Pointer: Address of the node below it The Top Pointer always points to the most recently added element. When pushing, we create a new node and make it the new top. When popping, we move the top pointer to the next node. Each node is allocated at a memory address. The next pointer stores the address of the node below, creating a chain from top to bottom. 📍 Memory Representation TOP → 0x1004 0x1004: Data: 30 Next: 0x1002 0x1002: Data: 20 Next: 0x1000 0x1000: Data: 10 Next: NULL Stack Operations Explained 📥 Push Operation Adds a new element to the top of the stack. Create a new node with the value Set new node's next to current top Update top to point to new node 📤 Pop Operation Removes and returns the top element. Check if stack is empty Store the top element's value Move top to the next node Return the stored value ⏱️ Time Complexity Push: O(1) - Always adds at top Pop: O(1) - Always removes from top Peek: O(1) - Just returns top value isEmpty: O(1) - Checks if top is null Size: O(1) or O(n) depending on implementation 💾 Space Complexity Overall: O(n) where n is number of elements Real-World Applications 🔄 Function Call Stack When functions call other functions, return addresses are stored on the call stack. ↩️ Undo/Redo Operations Text editors use stacks to track changes for undo and redo functionality. 🌐 Browser History Back button works using a stack of previously visited pages. 🔢 Expression Evaluation Compilers use stacks to evaluate mathematical expressions and check syntax. 💡 More Use Cases Syntax parsing (matching parentheses) Backtracking algorithms (maze solving) Memory management Reversing strings/arrays DFS (Depth First Search) Converting infix to postfix 🎬 Interactive Visualization Ready OPERATION ZONE New Node Preview 0x???? -- Next NULL Enter value and click Push STACK TOP → Stack is empty St...
Subject: Data Structures with Animation | Chapter: Stack Data Structure