Using Java’s ArrayList

It is often the case that new data structures are written using other existing data structures as an underlying model. In this practice exercise we will be creating a Stack class using Java’s ArrayList as a basis for our new class.

A Stack data structure behaves similarly to a stack of papers. There are restrictions on adding or removing papers from the stack:
1. You may only add papers to the top of a stack, referred to as a “push” operation.
2. You may only remove papers from the top of a stack, referred to as a “pop” operation.
3. You may also view the paper on top of the stack, referred to as a “peek” operation. This does not remove the top paper.
4. You cannot access papers below the top paper on your stack
Because of these restrictions, a Stack data type is referred to as a LIFO structure (last-in-first-out).

Note: because we only allow access to elements at the top of a Stack, this removes the index-based access of structures such as Arrays and ArrayLists

Write a new Stack class using an ArrayList as the underlying storage structure (in other words, a private instance field). You can simulate the behavior described above by adding/removing items from one side of your ArrayList. Which side to use is up to you, but I would suggest analyzing which side of an ArrayList is best to use.

Use the following class diagram as a basis for your class:

Stack<T>

– data : ArrayList<T>

+ Stack()

+ pop() : T
+ push(newElement : T) : void
+ peek() : T
+ isEmpty() : boolean
+ size() : int

Note: your Stack<T> class should throw an appropriate exception when pop() is called on an empty Stack.

Write a driver class to show that your Stack class is working correctly.

Challenge: create a new class called BoundedStack that enforces a maximum number of elements in your stack.
1. Use the code from your Stack class as a starting point in your new BoundedStack class
2. Include only a parameterized constructor that takes a positive integer that specifies the maximum number of elements in your bounded stack
3. Throw an appropriate exception if you stack size exceeds the bounds given

 

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