Difference Between Stack and Queue

In this post, we will understand the difference between Stack and Queue.

Stack

• They are based on LIFO- Last In First Out.

• This means the element inserted at the end is the first element to get deleted.

• Insertion and deletion happen in a stack from one end only, i.e the top.

• Insert operation is known as ‘push’ operation.

• Delete operation is known as ‘pop’ operation.

• A pointer is used to access the list, it is known as ‘top’.

• The ‘top’ points to the last element of the list.

• It helps work with problems associated with recursion.

Representation of Stack (LIFO)

Queues

• They are based on FIFO- First In First Out.

• This means the element that is inserted first is the first element to be deleted from the queue.

• Insertion and deletion happen from two opposite ends of the list.

• Insertion happens from the rear end.

• Deletion happens from the front end.

• Insert operation is also known as ‘enqueue’.

• Delete operation is also known as ‘dequeue’.

• Two pointers are used to access the list.

• Front pointer points to first element that is inserted in the list, and still present.

• The rear pointer points to the last inserted element of the queue.

• It is used to solve problems that have sequential processing techniques.

Representation of Queue