What is the difference between a stack and a queue in data structures?

What is the difference between a stack and a queue in data structures?

In data structures, a stack and a queue are both abstract data types that serve as collections of elements. However, they differ in their principles of operation and the way elements are accessed and removed.

Stack:

A stack follows the Last In First Out (LIFO) principle, meaning that the last element added to the stack is the first one to be removed. Elements are pushed onto the top of the stack and popped off from the same top position. This makes a stack suitable for operations like function calling, undo mechanisms, and tracking states.

Queue:

On the other hand, a queue follows the First In First Out (FIFO) principle, where the first element added to the queue is the first one to be removed. Elements are enqueued at the rear end of the queue and dequeued from the front end. Queues are commonly used in scenarios like printing tasks, managing processes, and handling requests in a systematic order.

While stacks and queues both have their own specific use cases, understanding the differences between them is essential for choosing the appropriate data structure based on the requirements of a particular algorithm or system.