What is Monotonic Stack?
A Monotonic Stack is a common data structure in computer science that maintains its elements in a specific order. Unlike traditional stacks, Monotonic Stacks ensure that elements inside the stack are arranged in an increasing or decreasing order based on their arrival time. In order to achieve the monotonic stacks, we have to enforce the push and pop operation depending on whether we want a monotonic increasing stack or monotonic decreasing stack.
Let’s understand the term Monotonic Stacks by breaking it down.
Monotonic: It is a word for mathematics functions. A function y = f(x) is monotonically increasing or decreasing when it follows the below conditions:
- As x increases, y also increases always, then it’s a monotonically increasing function.
- As x increases, y decreases always, then it’s a monotonically decreasing function.
See the below examples:
- y = 2x +5, it’s a monotonically increasing function.
- y = -(2x), it’s a monotonically decreasing function.
Similarly, A stack is called a monotonic stack if all the elements starting from the bottom of the stack is either in increasing or in decreasing order.
Introduction to Monotonic Stack – Data Structure and Algorithm Tutorials
A monotonic stack is a special data structure used in algorithmic problem-solving. Monotonic Stack maintaining elements in either increasing or decreasing order. It is commonly used to efficiently solve problems such as finding the next greater or smaller element in an array etc.
Table of Content
- What is Monotonic Stack?
- Types of Monotonic Stack
- Monotonic Increasing Stack
- Monotonic Decreasing Stack
- Applications of Monotonic Stack
- Advantages of Monotonic Stack
- Disadvantages of Monotonic Stack
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Monotonic Stack: