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A stack (also called a push-down stack) is a dynamic data structure in which information (data) is pushed onto the stack much like dishes are stacked. Data is removed from the top of the stack, again much like a stack of dishes. All operations on data are (normally) performed by adding data/dishes to the top of the stack or removing data/dishes from the top of the stack.
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This subchapter is a stub section. It will be filled in with instructional material later. For now it serves the purpose of a place holder for the order of instruction.
Professors are invited to give feedback on both the proposed contents and the propsed order of this text book. Send commentary to Milo, PO Box 1361, Tustin, California, 92781, USA.
A stack (also called a push-down stack) is a dynamic data structure in which information (data) is pushed onto the stack much like dishes are stacked. Data is removed from the top of the stack, again much like a stack of dishes. All operations on data are (normally) performed by adding data/dishes to the top of the stack or removing data/dishes from the top of the stack.
Alan Turing invented the concept of the stack in his 1945 “Proposal for Development in the Mathematics Division of an Automatic Computing Machines”, which was his report on the characteristics an electronic computer should have. Turing’s stack routines were called BURY and UNBURY.
Adobe recommended in their PostScript Language Program Design that a programmer pay attention to the order that elements are placed on a stack and how the elements on a stack are used. In the PostScript language this could make a huge difference in execution (rendering) time. This principle goes well beyond PostScript. If you find yourself continually rotating and otherwise moving elements around on the stack, chances are that you have failed to order your operations in a manner that makes sense for a stack. You should probably either reorder your operations in an order that makes sense for a stack or consider using some other more appropriate data structure for your particular problem.
“36 Access types allow the construction of linked data structures. A value of an access type represents a reference to an object declared as aliased or to an object created by the evaluation of an allocator. Several variables of an access type may designate the same object, and components of one object may designate the same or other objects. Both the elements in such linked data structures and their relation to other elements can be altered during program execution. Access types also permit references to subprograms to be stored, passed as parameters, and ultimately dereferenced as part of an indirect call.” —:Ada-Europe’s Ada Reference Manual: Introduction: Language Summary See legal information
Stack pointers are used to implement a processor stack in memory. In many processors, address registers can be used as generic data stack pointers and queue pointers. A specific stack pointer or address register may be hardwired for certain instructions. The most common use is to store return addresses, processor state information, and temporary variables for subroutines.
See also Registers
Coding example: I am making heavily documented and explained open source code for a method to play music for free — almost any song, no subscription fees, no download costs, no advertisements, all completely legal. This is done by building a front-end to YouTube (which checks the copyright permissions for you).
View music player in action: www.musicinpublic.com/.
Create your own copy from the original source code/ (presented for learning programming).
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free computer programming text book projectBuilding a free downloadable text book on computer programming for university, college, community college, and high school classes in computer programming. If you like the idea of this project, Supporting the entire project: If you have a business or organization that can support the entire cost of this project, please contact Pr Ntr Kmt (my church) free downloadable college text book on computer programming. |
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Created: November 1, 2010
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