Erica

[norrise120]

Stacks and Queues

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Comprehension Questions

Question	Answer
What is an ADT?	ADT - Abstract Data Type, a datatype where the mechanics are not public, but users are able to add or delete.
Describe a Stack	A stack is a list were items are added on top of each other, so first item in the list is the last item out of the list.
What are the 5 methods in Stack and what does each do?	Initialize creates the stack, push adds elements to the stack at the end, pop takes away elements from the stack starting at the end, empty? returns a boolean depending on whether the stack is empty or not, and to_s formats the stack into a readable string.
Describe a Queue	A queue is a list where elements are added behind each other, so first item in the list is the first item out of the list.
What are the 5 methods in Queue and what does each do?	Enqueue adds to the rear of the queue. Dequeue removes from the front of the queue. Empty? determines if the queue has elements or not. to_s formats it so that the elements are returned as a string, and initialize creates the queue.
What is the difference between implementing something and using something?	Implementing is creating a method (or class, etc) while using is calling a method (or making an instance of a class, etc).

OPTIONAL JobSimulation

Question	Answer
Did you include a sample run of your code as a comment?

[CheezItMan]

Not bad, you hit most of the learning goals. In particular see my notes on your Stack implementation. Let me know if you have questions.

[CheezItMan]

You should also check to see if the queue is now empty.

[CheezItMan]

This is a pretty expensive way to see if the queue is empty.

Why not just return @front == -1?

[CheezItMan]

This is a bit expensive. You could also calculate the size based on the locations of front and rear.

[CheezItMan]

You don't really need a circular buffer for a Stack as you only add or remove on one end (the top). Instead I'd asked you to use a Linked List. So this is a little weird.