Python Data Structures: Stacks, Queues, and Deques (2018)

Course details

Data structures like stacks and queues come up frequently in interviews for technical roles. Though many candidates may never encounter data structures in day-to-day programming, showing a mastery of these concepts can help you rock your next interview—and add to your coding toolkit. In this course, Erin Allard shows how to use Python to build the top three linear data structures: stacks, queues, and deques. She compares and contrasts the data structures and shows how to implement them in an object-oriented way in Python. Learn how to define each class and use Python's built-in methods to accomplish the necessary behaviors, such as push, pop, and peek; enqueue and dequeue; and add_front and remove_rear. Challenges in each chapter help practice your new skills and prepare for your next interview.

Learning objectives
Abstract types and data structures
Stacks as a linear abstract data type
Creating the Stack class and its methods
Adding items to the top and bottom of a stack
Creating the Queue class and its methods
Manipulating items in a queue
Creating the Dequeue class and its methods
Adding and removing items from a dequeue

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Python data structures primer
02 - What you should know

1. Abstract Data Types and Data Structures

03 - Abstract data types
04 - Data structures

2. The Stack

05 - Stacks as a linear abstract data type
06 - Creating the stack class and its methods
07 - push()
08 - pop()
09 - peek()
10 - size()
11 - is empty()
12 - Challenge - Balanced symbols
13 - Balanced symbols solution approach
14 - Balanced symbols solution in code

3. The Queue

15 - Queues as a linear abstract data type
16 - Creating the queue class and its methods
17 - enqueue()
18 - dequeue()
19 - peek()
20 - size() and is empty()
21 - Challenge - Print queue
22 - Print queue solution approach
23 - Print queue solution in code

4. The Deque

24 - Dequeues as a linear abstract data type
25 - Creating the deque class and its methods
26 - add rear() and add front()
27 - remove rear() and remove front()
28 - peek rear() and peek front()
29 - size() and is empty()
30 - Challenge - Palindrome checker
31 - Palindrome checker solution approach
32 - Palindrome checker solution in code

Conclusion

33 - Next steps