Stacks and Queues
Master LIFO and FIFO patterns with stacks and queues. Learn the data structures that power undo operations, task scheduling, and breadth-first algorithms.
Overview
In this lesson, you'll master stacks and queues, two fundamental data structures that implement Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) and First-In-First-Out (FIFO) patterns. We'll implement both structures, explore their applications, and see how they enable powerful algorithms and system designs.
Stacks and queues are deceptively simple yet incredibly powerful. They form the backbone of everything from your browser's back button to complex graph traversal algorithms, proving that elegant solutions often come from understanding fundamental patterns.
Key concepts you'll master:
- Understanding LIFO and FIFO access patterns
- Implementing stacks and queues with arrays and linked lists
- Exploring real-world applications and use cases
- Using stacks for recursion and expression evaluation
- Applying queues in breadth-first search and task scheduling
Next: Strings →