CST211 - Data Structures: Stack (Linked List-Based)

Overview

Linked list-based stack implementation providing dynamic memory allocation without fixed capacity limits.

Course Information

• Course: CST211 - Data Structures
• Assignment: Assignment 6 - Stack Linked List
• Institution: Oregon Institute of Technology

Features

• LIFO stack using linked nodes
• No fixed capacity constraints
• Dynamic memory allocation per element
• Built on LinkedList foundation
• Efficient memory usage for variable-size stacks

Technical Details

Stack Class

• Base Structure: Built on top of LinkedList class
• Memory: Dynamic allocation, grows/shrinks as needed
• Efficiency: O(1) for all operations, no resizing overhead

Key Operations

• Push(T) - Add element to top (front of list)
• Pop() - Remove and return top element
• Peek() - View top element
• isEmpty() - Check if stack is empty
• Size() - Get element count

Comparison with Array-Based Stack

• Pros: No capacity limits, no wasted space
• Cons: Slight overhead per node, less cache-friendly

Learning Objectives

• Alternative stack implementations
• Trade-offs between array and linked list backing
• Adapter pattern with different base structures
• Memory allocation strategies

Technologies

• C++
• Visual Studio
• Linked data structures