Queues

A queue is a linear data structure that follows the First In, First Out (FIFO) principle. This means that the first element added to the queue is the first one to be removed. It can be visualized as a line of people waiting for a service, where the first person in line is the first to be served.

Operations on Queue:

The primary operations associated with a queue are:

• Enqueue: Adds an element to the end (rear) of the queue.
• Dequeue: Removes and returns the front element of the queue.
• Front (or Peek): Returns the front element of the queue without removing it.
• IsEmpty: Checks if the queue is empty.
• Size: Returns the number of elements in the queue.

Use Cases of Queue:

Queues are used in various applications, including:

• Task Scheduling: Operating systems use queues to manage tasks and processes.
• Breadth-First Search (BFS): In graph traversal algorithms, queues help in exploring nodes level by level.
• Buffering: Used in situations where data is transferred asynchronously, such as IO buffers and print spooling.

In computer science, data structures are fundamental concepts that are crucial for organizing and storing data efficiently. Among the various data structures, stacks and queues are two of the most basic yet essential structures used in programming and algorithm design. Despite their simplicity, they form the backbone of many complex systems and applications. This article provides the differences between stack and queue data structures, exploring their characteristics, operations, and use cases.