How to implement a stack or queue in JavaScript?
Jul 13, 2025 am 02:31 AMImplementing stack and queues mainly rely on arrays in JavaScript. 1. The stack uses push to stack and pop to stack to achieve last-in first-out; 2. The queue uses push to queue and shift to queue to realize first-in first-out; 3. The queue can also be implemented in reverse; 4. It is recommended to encapsulate it into classes for reuse and management, such as the Stack class includes push, pop, peek and isEmpty methods; 5. The array implementation is simple and direct, but performance issues need to be paid attention to, especially shift operations may affect efficiency.
Implementing stacks or queues in JavaScript is actually not difficult. The key is to understand their characteristics and choose the appropriate data structure to simulate. JavaScript arrays are born with stack and queue capabilities, and can be used with just a little restriction.

Implementation of Stack
The stack is a "last in first out" structure. The most common way is to use arrays to match push
and pop
methods.
const stack = []; stack.push(1); // stack.push(2); console.log(stack.pop()); // Output 2
- push() : push the element to the top of the stack
- pop() : Pop an element from the top of the stack
Note: Although
unshift()
andshift()
can also be used to simulate the stack, it will operate on the beginning of the array, and the performance is poor and is not recommended.
If you want to view the top element of the stack without popping up, you can access stack[stack.length - 1]
.
Queue implementation
Queues are the structure of "first in first out" (FIFO, First In First Out). It can also be simulated using arrays, but it needs to be combined with different methods.

const queue = []; queue.push(1); // join queue.push(2); console.log(queue.shift()); // Dequeue, output 1
- push() : Add element to the end of the queue
- shift() : Remove the element of the head of the team
Note: Frequent use of
shift()
will cause the space in front of the array to be freed up and the internal needs to be re-indexed, which will have a certain impact on performance. If you have high performance requirements, you can consider implementing an object-based or linked list-based queue structure yourself.
In addition, you can also use unshift()
and pop()
to implement the queue in reverse, such as:
queue.unshift('a'); queue.unshift('b'); console.log(queue.pop()); // Output 'a'
This method is to dequeue from the end of the array and is suitable for certain specific scenarios.
Use class encapsulation more clearly
If you want the code structure to be clearer and more convenient to reuse, you can encapsulate the stack or queue into classes:
class Stack { constructor() { this.items = []; } push(item) { this.items.push(item); } pop() { return this.items.pop(); } peek() { return this.items[this.items.length - 1]; } isEmpty() { return this.items.length === 0; } }
Similarly, you can write a Queue class to centrally manage the logic, so that it is easier to debug or extend functions in the future.
Basically that's it. Using arrays to implement stacks and queues is the most common practice in JavaScript, which is simple and direct. As long as you pay attention to the use order and performance characteristics of the method, most of the needs can be met.
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