Stack<T> Class

Stack<T> is implemented as an array.

The capacity of a Stack<T> is the number of elements the Stack<T> can hold. As elements are added to a Stack<T>, the capacity is automatically increased as required by reallocating the internal array. The capacity can be decreased by calling TrimExcess.

If Count is less than the capacity of the stack, Push is an O(1) operation. If the capacity needs to be increased to accommodate the new element, Push becomes an O(n) operation, where n is Count. Pop is an O(1) operation.

Stack<T> accepts null as a valid value for reference types and allows duplicate elements.

The following code example demonstrates several methods of the Stack<T> generic class. The code example creates a stack of strings with default capacity and uses the Push method to push five strings onto the stack. The elements of the stack are enumerated, which does not change the state of the stack. The Pop method is used to pop the first string off the stack. The Peek method is used to look at the next item on the stack, and then the Pop method is used to pop it off.

The ToArray method is used to create an array and copy the stack elements to it, then the array is passed to the Stack<T> constructor that takes IEnumerable<T>, creating a copy of the stack with the order of the elements reversed. The elements of the copy are displayed.

An array twice the size of the stack is created, and the CopyTo method is used to copy the array elements beginning at the middle of the array. The Stack<T> constructor is used again to create a copy of the stack with the order of elements reversed; thus, the three null elements are at the end.

The Contains method is used to show that the string "four" is in the first copy of the stack, after which the Clear method clears the copy and the Count property shows that the stack is empty.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Example
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Stack<string> numbers = new Stack<string>();
        numbers.Push("one");
        numbers.Push("two");
        numbers.Push("three");
        numbers.Push("four");
        numbers.Push("five");

        // A stack can be enumerated without disturbing its contents.
        foreach( string number in numbers )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(number);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\nPopping '{0}'", numbers.Pop());
        Console.WriteLine("Peek at next item to destack: {0}", 
            numbers.Peek());
        Console.WriteLine("Popping '{0}'", numbers.Pop());

        // Create a copy of the stack, using the ToArray method and the
        // constructor that accepts an IEnumerable<T>.
        Stack<string> stack2 = new Stack<string>(numbers.ToArray());

        Console.WriteLine("\nContents of the first copy:");
        foreach( string number in stack2 )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(number);
        }

        // Create an array twice the size of the stack and copy the
        // elements of the stack, starting at the middle of the 
        // array. 
        string[] array2 = new string[numbers.Count * 2];
        numbers.CopyTo(array2, numbers.Count);

        // Create a second stack, using the constructor that accepts an
        // IEnumerable(Of T).
        Stack<string> stack3 = new Stack<string>(array2);

        Console.WriteLine("\nContents of the second copy, with duplicates and nulls:");
        foreach( string number in stack3 )
        {
            Console.WriteLine(number);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\nstack2.Contains(\"four\") = {0}", 
            stack2.Contains("four"));

        Console.WriteLine("\nstack2.Clear()");
        stack2.Clear();
        Console.WriteLine("\nstack2.Count = {0}", stack2.Count);
    }
}

/* This code example produces the following output:

five
four
three
two
one

Popping 'five'
Peek at next item to destack: four
Popping 'four'

Contents of the first copy:
one
two
three

Contents of the second copy, with duplicates and nulls:
one
two
three




stack2.Contains("four") = False

stack2.Clear()

stack2.Count = 0
 */

.NET Framework

.NET Framework Client Profile

Portable Class Library

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

Public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

A Stack<T> can support multiple readers concurrently, as long as the collection is not modified. Even so, enumerating through a collection is intrinsically not a thread-safe procedure. To guarantee thread safety during enumeration, you can lock the collection during the entire enumeration. To allow the collection to be accessed by multiple threads for reading and writing, you must implement your own synchronization.

Reference