Implement two stacks in an array

Create a data structure twoStacks that represents two stacks. Implementation of twoStacks should use only one array, i.e., both stacks should use the same array for storing elements. Following functions must be supported by twoStacks.

push1(int x) –> pushes x to first stack
push2(int x) –> pushes x to second stack

pop1() –> pops an element from first stack and return the popped element
pop2() –> pops an element from second stack and return the popped element

Implementation of twoStack should be space efficient.

Recommended: Please solve it on “PRACTICE” first, before moving on to the solution.

Method 1 (Divide the space in two halves)
A simple way to implement two stacks is to divide the array in two halves and assign the half half space to two stacks, i.e., use arr[0] to arr[n/2] for stack1, and arr[(n/2) + 1] to arr[n-1] for stack2 where arr[] is the array to be used to implement two stacks and size of array be n.

The problem with this method is inefficient use of array space. A stack push operation may result in stack overflow even if there is space available in arr[]. For example, say the array size is 6 and we push 3 elements to stack1 and do not push anything to second stack2. When we push 4th element to stack1, there will be overflow even if we have space for 3 more elements in array.

#include <iostream> 
#include <stdlib.h> 
  
using namespace std; 
  
class twoStacks { 
    int* arr; 
    int size; 
    int top1, top2; 
  
public: 
    // Constructor 
    twoStacks(int n) 
    { 
        size = n; 
        arr = new int[n]; 
        top1 = n / 2 + 1; 
        top2 = n / 2; 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element x to stack1 
    void push1(int x) 
    { 
        // There is at least one empty 
        // space for new element 
        if (top1 > 0) { 
            top1--; 
            arr[top1] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack Overflow"
                 << " By element :" << x << endl; 
            return; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element 
    // x to stack2 
    void push2(int x) 
    { 
  
        // There is at least one empty 
        // space for new element 
        if (top2 < size - 1) { 
            top2++; 
            arr[top2] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack Overflow"
                 << " By element :" << x << endl; 
            return; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element from first stack 
    int pop1() 
    { 
        if (top1 <= size / 2) { 
            int x = arr[top1]; 
            top1++; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack UnderFlow"; 
            exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element 
    // from second stack 
    int pop2() 
    { 
        if (top2 >= size / 2 + 1) { 
            int x = arr[top2]; 
            top2--; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack UnderFlow"; 
            exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
}; 
  
/* Driver program to test twStacks class */
int main() 
{ 
    twoStacks ts(5); 
    ts.push1(5); 
    ts.push2(10); 
    ts.push2(15); 
    ts.push1(11); 
    ts.push2(7); 
    cout << "Popped element from stack1 is "
         << " : " << ts.pop1() 
         << endl; 
    ts.push2(40); 
    cout << "\nPopped element from stack2 is "
         << ": " << ts.pop2() 
         << endl; 
    return 0; 
} 

Output:

Stack Overflow By element :7
Popped element from stack1 is  : 11
Stack Overflow By element :40
Popped element from stack2 is : 15

Complexity Analysis:

Time Complexity:
- Push operation : O(1)
- Pop operation : O(1)
Auxiliary Space: O(N).
Use of array to implement stack so. It is not the space-optimised method as explained above.

Method 2 (A space efficient implementation)
This method efficiently utilizes the available space. It doesn’t cause an overflow if there is space available in arr[]. The idea is to start two stacks from two extreme corners of arr[]. stack1 starts from the leftmost element, the first element in stack1 is pushed at index 0. The stack2 starts from the rightmost corner, the first element in stack2 is pushed at index (n-1). Both stacks grow (or shrink) in opposite direction. To check for overflow, all we need to check is for space between top elements of both stacks. This check is highlighted in the below code.

C++

#include <iostream> 
#include <stdlib.h> 
  
using namespace std; 
  
class twoStacks { 
    int* arr; 
    int size; 
    int top1, top2; 
  
public: 
    twoStacks(int n) // constructor 
    { 
        size = n; 
        arr = new int[n]; 
        top1 = -1; 
        top2 = size; 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element x to stack1 
    void push1(int x) 
    { 
        // There is at least one empty space for new element 
        if (top1 < top2 - 1) { 
            top1++; 
            arr[top1] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack Overflow"; 
            exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element x to stack2 
    void push2(int x) 
    { 
        // There is at least one empty 
        // space for new element 
        if (top1 < top2 - 1) { 
            top2--; 
            arr[top2] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack Overflow"; 
            exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element from first stack 
    int pop1() 
    { 
        if (top1 >= 0) { 
            int x = arr[top1]; 
            top1--; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack UnderFlow"; 
            exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element from second stack 
    int pop2() 
    { 
        if (top2 < size) { 
            int x = arr[top2]; 
            top2++; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            cout << "Stack UnderFlow"; 
            exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
}; 
  
/* Driver program to test twStacks class */
int main() 
{ 
    twoStacks ts(5); 
    ts.push1(5); 
    ts.push2(10); 
    ts.push2(15); 
    ts.push1(11); 
    ts.push2(7); 
    cout << "Popped element from stack1 is "
         << ts.pop1(); 
    ts.push2(40); 
    cout << "\nPopped element from stack2 is "
         << ts.pop2(); 
    return 0; 
} 

Java

// Java program to implement two stacks in a 
// single array 
class TwoStacks { 
    int size; 
    int top1, top2; 
    int arr[]; 
  
    // Constructor 
    TwoStacks(int n) 
    { 
        arr = new int[n]; 
        size = n; 
        top1 = -1; 
        top2 = size; 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element x to stack1 
    void push1(int x) 
    { 
        // There is at least one empty space for 
        // new element 
        if (top1 < top2 - 1) { 
            top1++; 
            arr[top1] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            System.out.println("Stack Overflow"); 
            System.exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element x to stack2 
    void push2(int x) 
    { 
        // There is at least one empty space for 
        // new element 
        if (top1 < top2 - 1) { 
            top2--; 
            arr[top2] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            System.out.println("Stack Overflow"); 
            System.exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element from first stack 
    int pop1() 
    { 
        if (top1 >= 0) { 
            int x = arr[top1]; 
            top1--; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            System.out.println("Stack Underflow"); 
            System.exit(1); 
        } 
        return 0; 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element from second stack 
    int pop2() 
    { 
        if (top2 < size) { 
            int x = arr[top2]; 
            top2++; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            System.out.println("Stack Underflow"); 
            System.exit(1); 
        } 
        return 0; 
    } 
  
    // Driver program to test twoStack class 
    public static void main(String args[]) 
    { 
        TwoStacks ts = new TwoStacks(5); 
        ts.push1(5); 
        ts.push2(10); 
        ts.push2(15); 
        ts.push1(11); 
        ts.push2(7); 
        System.out.println("Popped element from"
                           + " stack1 is " + ts.pop1()); 
        ts.push2(40); 
        System.out.println("Popped element from"
                           + " stack2 is " + ts.pop2()); 
    } 
} 
// This code has been contributed by 
// Amit Khandelwal(Amit Khandelwal 1). 

Python

# Python Script to Implement two stacks in a list 
class twoStacks: 
      
    def __init__(self, n):     # constructor 
        self.size = n 
        self.arr = [None] * n 
        self.top1 = -1
        self.top2 = self.size 
          
    # Method to push an element x to stack1 
    def push1(self, x): 
          
        # There is at least one empty space for new element 
        if self.top1 < self.top2 - 1 : 
            self.top1 = self.top1 + 1
            self.arr[self.top1] = x 
  
        else: 
            print("Stack Overflow ") 
            exit(1) 
  
    # Method to push an element x to stack2 
    def push2(self, x): 
  
        # There is at least one empty space for new element 
        if self.top1 < self.top2 - 1: 
            self.top2 = self.top2 - 1
            self.arr[self.top2] = x 
  
        else : 
           print("Stack Overflow ") 
           exit(1) 
  
    # Method to pop an element from first stack 
    def pop1(self): 
        if self.top1 >= 0: 
            x = self.arr[self.top1] 
            self.top1 = self.top1 -1
            return x 
        else: 
            print("Stack Underflow ") 
            exit(1) 
  
    # Method to pop an element from second stack 
    def pop2(self): 
        if self.top2 < self.size: 
            x = self.arr[self.top2] 
            self.top2 = self.top2 + 1
            return x 
        else: 
            print("Stack Underflow ") 
            exit() 
  
# Driver program to test twoStacks class 
ts = twoStacks(5) 
ts.push1(5) 
ts.push2(10) 
ts.push2(15) 
ts.push1(11) 
ts.push2(7) 
  
print("Popped element from stack1 is " + str(ts.pop1())) 
ts.push2(40) 
print("Popped element from stack2 is " + str(ts.pop2())) 
  
# This code is contributed by Sunny Karira 

C#

// C# program to implement two 
// stacks in a single array 
using System; 
  
public class TwoStacks { 
    public int size; 
    public int top1, top2; 
    public int[] arr; 
  
    // Constructor 
    public TwoStacks(int n) 
    { 
        arr = new int[n]; 
        size = n; 
        top1 = -1; 
        top2 = size; 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element x to stack1 
    public virtual void push1(int x) 
    { 
        // There is at least one empty 
        // space for new element 
        if (top1 < top2 - 1) { 
            top1++; 
            arr[top1] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            Console.WriteLine("Stack Overflow"); 
            Environment.Exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to push an element x to stack2 
    public virtual void push2(int x) 
    { 
        // There is at least one empty 
        // space for new element 
        if (top1 < top2 - 1) { 
            top2--; 
            arr[top2] = x; 
        } 
        else { 
            Console.WriteLine("Stack Overflow"); 
            Environment.Exit(1); 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element 
    // from first stack 
    public virtual int pop1() 
    { 
        if (top1 >= 0) { 
            int x = arr[top1]; 
            top1--; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            Console.WriteLine("Stack Underflow"); 
            Environment.Exit(1); 
        } 
        return 0; 
    } 
  
    // Method to pop an element 
    // from second stack 
    public virtual int pop2() 
    { 
        if (top2 < size) { 
            int x = arr[top2]; 
            top2++; 
            return x; 
        } 
        else { 
            Console.WriteLine("Stack Underflow"); 
            Environment.Exit(1); 
        } 
        return 0; 
    } 
  
    // Driver Code 
    public static void Main(string[] args) 
    { 
        TwoStacks ts = new TwoStacks(5); 
        ts.push1(5); 
        ts.push2(10); 
        ts.push2(15); 
        ts.push1(11); 
        ts.push2(7); 
        Console.WriteLine("Popped element from"
                          + " stack1 is " + ts.pop1()); 
        ts.push2(40); 
        Console.WriteLine("Popped element from"
                          + " stack2 is " + ts.pop2()); 
    } 
} 
  
// This code is contributed by Shrikant13 

PHP

<?php 
// PHP program to implement two  
// stacks in a single array      
class twoStacks  
{  
    private $arr;  
    private $size;  
    private $top1; 
    private $top2;  
    function __construct($n) 
    { 
        $this->size = $n;  
        $this->arr = array();  
        $this->top1 = -1;  
        $this->top2 = $this->size;  
    } 
  
// Method to push an element x to stack1  
function push1($x)  
{  
    // There is at least one empty  
    // space for new element  
    if ($this->top1 < $this->top2 - 1)  
    {  
        $this->top1++;  
        $this->arr[$this->top1] = $x;  
    }  
    else
    {  
        echo "Stack Overflow";  
        exit();  
    }  
}  
  
// Method to push an element x to stack2  
function push2($x)  
{  
    // There is at least one empty space 
    // for new element  
    if ($this->top1 < $this->top2 - 1)  
    {  
        $this->top2--;  
        $this->arr[$this->top2] = $x;  
    }  
    else
    {  
        echo "Stack Overflow";  
        exit();  
    }  
}  
  
// Method to pop an element  
// from first stack  
function pop1()  
{  
    if ($this->top1 >= 0 )  
    {  
        $x = $this->arr[$this->top1];  
        $this->top1--;  
        return $x;  
    }  
    else
    {  
        echo "Stack UnderFlow";  
        exit();  
    }  
}  
  
// Method to pop an element from  
// second stack  
function pop2()  
{  
    if ($this->top2 < $this->size)  
    {  
        $x = $this->arr[$this->top2];  
        $this->top2++;  
        return $x;  
    }  
    else
    {  
        echo "Stack UnderFlow";  
        exit();  
    }  
}  
};  
  
  
// Driver Code 
$ts = new twoStacks(5);  
$ts->push1(5);  
$ts->push2(10);  
$ts->push2(15);  
$ts->push1(11);  
$ts->push2(7);  
echo "Popped element from stack1 is " .  
                           $ts->pop1();  
$ts->push2(40);  
echo "\nPopped element from stack2 is " .  
                             $ts->pop2();  
  
// This code is contributed by 
// rathbhupendra 
?> 

Output:

Popped element from stack1 is 11
Popped element from stack2 is 40

Complexity Analysis:

Time Complexity:
- Push operation : O(1)
- Pop operation : O(1)
Auxiliary Space :O(N).
Use of array to implement stack so it is a space-optimised method.

Please write comments if you find anything incorrect, or you want to share more information about the topic discussed above.

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My Personal Notes

Recommended: Please solve it on “PRACTICE” first, before moving on to the solution.

C++

Java

Python

C#

PHP

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