A Deque (Double-Ended Queue) is a data structure that allows insertion and deletion of elements at both ends (front and rear). This flexibility makes it more versatile than a regular queue, where insertion and deletion can only happen at one end. In this article, we will explore how to implement a deque using a simple array.
Key Features of a Deque
- Insertions and deletions from both ends: You can add or remove elements from both ends of the deque.
- Fixed size: The size of the deque is fixed when the array is created.
- Efficient operations: Insertion and deletion from both ends are efficient if there is space available in the array.

Basic Operations of a Deque Using a Simple Array
The key operations that can be performed on a deque implemented using a simple array:
1. Initialization
The deque is initialized using an array and two pointers, front and rear, which track the positions of the front and rear elements.
frontandrearare initialized to-1to indicate that the deque is empty.- The array
arrwill store the elements of the deque.
2. Insert at Front
To insert an element at the front of the deque, we shift all the elements one position to the right and place the new element at the front.
- If the deque is empty, both the
frontandrearpointers are initialized to 0. - If the
frontpointer is at 0, there is no space for insertion at the front, and an error is returned. - If there is space, all elements are shifted to the right, creating room for the new element at the front.
3. Insert at Rear
To insert an element at the rear of the deque, we place it at the position of the rear pointer and increment the rear.
- If the deque is empty, both
frontandrearare set to0. - If there’s space, the element is inserted at the rear pointer and the rear is incremented.
4. Delete from Front
To delete an element from the front of the deque, we simply increment the front pointer to remove the element. If there’s only one element, both the front and rear are reset to -1.
- If there is only one element, reset both
frontandrearto-1. - Otherwise, increment the
frontpointer to remove the element.
5. Delete from Rear
To delete an element from the rear of the deque, we decrement the rear pointer. If there’s only one element, reset both front and rear.
- If there’s only one element, reset both
frontandrear. - Otherwise, decrement the
rearpointer to remove the element.
6. Get Front and Rear
- These functions return the elements at the front or rear of the deque.
7. Check if Empty or Full
isEmptychecks if thefrontpointer is-1, indicating that the deque is empty.isFullchecks if therearpointer has reached the last index of the array.
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
using namespace std;
class Deque {
vector<int> dq;
public:
bool isEmpty() { return dq.empty(); }
void insertFront(int x) {
dq.insert(dq.begin(), x);
}
void insertRear(int x) {
dq.push_back(x);
}
void deleteFront() {
if (!isEmpty()) dq.erase(dq.begin());
}
void deleteRear() {
if (!isEmpty()) dq.pop_back();
}
int getFront() {
return isEmpty() ? -1 : dq.front();
}
int getRear() {
return isEmpty() ? -1 : dq.back();
}
void display() {
for (int x : dq) cout << x << " ";
cout << "\n";
}
};
int main() {
Deque dq;
dq.insertRear(10);
dq.insertRear(20);
dq.insertFront(5);
dq.insertRear(30);
dq.display();
dq.deleteFront();
dq.deleteRear();
dq.display();
dq.insertFront(1);
dq.insertRear(50);
dq.display();
}
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#define MAX 100
typedef struct Deque {
int items[MAX];
int front;
int rear;
} Deque;
void initDeque(Deque* dq) {
dq->front = -1;
dq->rear = -1;
}
int isEmpty(Deque* dq) {
return dq->front == -1;
}
int isFull(Deque* dq) {
return (dq->rear + 1) % MAX == dq->front;
}
void insertFront(Deque* dq, int x) {
if (isFull(dq)) return;
if (isEmpty(dq)) {
dq->front = 0;
dq->rear = 0;
} else {
dq->front = (dq->front - 1 + MAX) % MAX;
}
dq->items[dq->front] = x;
}
void insertRear(Deque* dq, int x) {
if (isFull(dq)) return;
if (isEmpty(dq)) {
dq->front = 0;
dq->rear = 0;
} else {
dq->rear = (dq->rear + 1) % MAX;
}
dq->items[dq->rear] = x;
}
void deleteFront(Deque* dq) {
if (isEmpty(dq)) return;
if (dq->front == dq->rear) {
dq->front = -1;
dq->rear = -1;
} else {
dq->front = (dq->front + 1) % MAX;
}
}
void deleteRear(Deque* dq) {
if (isEmpty(dq)) return;
if (dq->front == dq->rear) {
dq->front = -1;
dq->rear = -1;
} else {
dq->rear = (dq->rear - 1 + MAX) % MAX;
}
}
int getFront(Deque* dq) {
return isEmpty(dq) ? -1 : dq->items[dq->front];
}
int getRear(Deque* dq) {
return isEmpty(dq) ? -1 : dq->items[dq->rear];
}
void display(Deque* dq) {
if (isEmpty(dq)) return;
int i = dq->front;
while (1) {
printf("%d ", dq->items[i]);
if (i == dq->rear) break;
i = (i + 1) % MAX;
}
printf("\n");
}
int main() {
Deque dq;
initDeque(&dq);
insertRear(&dq, 10);
insertRear(&dq, 20);
insertFront(&dq, 5);
insertRear(&dq, 30);
display(&dq);
deleteFront(&dq);
deleteRear(&dq);
display(&dq);
insertFront(&dq, 1);
insertRear(&dq, 50);
display(&dq);
return 0;
}
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
class Deque {
List<Integer> dq = new ArrayList<>();
public boolean isEmpty() { return dq.isEmpty(); }
public void insertFront(int x) {
dq.add(0, x);
}
public void insertRear(int x) {
dq.add(x);
}
public void deleteFront() {
if (!isEmpty()) dq.remove(0);
}
public void deleteRear() {
if (!isEmpty()) dq.remove(dq.size() - 1);
}
public int getFront() {
return isEmpty() ? -1 : dq.get(0);
}
public int getRear() {
return isEmpty() ? -1 : dq.get(dq.size() - 1);
}
public void display() {
for (int x : dq) System.out.print(x + " ");
System.out.println();
}
}
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Deque dq = new Deque();
dq.insertRear(10);
dq.insertRear(20);
dq.insertFront(5);
dq.insertRear(30);
dq.display();
dq.deleteFront();
dq.deleteRear();
dq.display();
dq.insertFront(1);
dq.insertRear(50);
dq.display();
}
}
class Deque:
def __init__(self):
self.dq = []
def is_empty(self):
return len(self.dq) == 0
def insert_front(self, x):
self.dq.insert(0, x)
def insert_rear(self, x):
self.dq.append(x)
def delete_front(self):
if not self.is_empty():
self.dq.pop(0)
def delete_rear(self):
if not self.is_empty():
self.dq.pop()
def get_front(self):
return -1 if self.is_empty() else self.dq[0]
def get_rear(self):
return -1 if self.is_empty() else self.dq[-1]
def display(self):
print(' '.join(map(str, self.dq)))
if __name__ == '__main__':
dq = Deque()
dq.insert_rear(10)
dq.insert_rear(20)
dq.insert_front(5)
dq.insert_rear(30)
dq.display()
dq.delete_front()
dq.delete_rear()
dq.display()
dq.insert_front(1)
dq.insert_rear(50)
dq.display()
// C# implementation of Deque
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
class Deque {
List<int> dq = new List<int>();
public bool IsEmpty() { return dq.Count == 0; }
public void InsertFront(int x) {
dq.Insert(0, x);
}
public void InsertRear(int x) {
dq.Add(x);
}
public void DeleteFront() {
if (!IsEmpty()) dq.RemoveAt(0);
}
public void DeleteRear() {
if (!IsEmpty()) dq.RemoveAt(dq.Count - 1);
}
public int GetFront() {
return IsEmpty() ? -1 : dq[0];
}
public int GetRear() {
return IsEmpty() ? -1 : dq[dq.Count - 1];
}
public void Display() {
foreach (int x in dq) Console.Write(x + " ");
Console.WriteLine();
}
}
class MainClass {
public static void Main(string[] args) {
Deque dq = new Deque();
dq.InsertRear(10);
dq.InsertRear(20);
dq.InsertFront(5);
dq.InsertRear(30);
dq.Display();
dq.DeleteFront();
dq.DeleteRear();
dq.Display();
dq.InsertFront(1);
dq.InsertRear(50);
dq.Display();
}
}
// Deque class implementation in JavaScript
class Deque {
constructor() {
this.dq = [];
}
isEmpty() {
return this.dq.length === 0;
}
insertFront(x) {
this.dq.unshift(x);
}
insertRear(x) {
this.dq.push(x);
}
deleteFront() {
if (!this.isEmpty()) {
this.dq.shift();
}
}
deleteRear() {
if (!this.isEmpty()) {
this.dq.pop();
}
}
getFront() {
return this.isEmpty() ? -1 : this.dq[0];
}
getRear() {
return this.isEmpty() ? -1 : this.dq[this.dq.length - 1];
}
display() {
console.log(this.dq.join(' '));
}
}
const dq = new Deque();
dq.insertRear(10);
dq.insertRear(20);
dq.insertFront(5);
dq.insertRear(30);
dq.display();
dq.deleteFront();
dq.deleteRear();
dq.display();
dq.insertFront(1);
dq.insertRear(50);
dq.display();
Output
5 10 20 30 10 20 1 10 20 50
| Operation | Time Complexity |
|---|---|
| insertFront(x) | O(n) |
| insertRear(x) | O(1) |
| deleteFront() | O(n) |
| deleteRear() | O(1) |
| getFront() | O(1) |
| getRear() | O(1) |
| isEmpty() | O(1) |
| isFull() | O(1) |
Advantages and Limitations of Using a Simple Array for Deque
Advantages
- Simple implementation: The array-based implementation is easy to understand and straightforward to code.
Limitations
- Fixed size: The size of the array is fixed at the time of creation. Once the deque is full, no more elements can be inserted unless we resize the array manually.
- Shifting elements: Inserting elements at the front requires shifting all other elements, which can be inefficient for large deques.