Interface Deque<E>

Type Parameters:
E - the type of elements held in this deque
All Superinterfaces:
Collection<E>,Iterable<E>,Queue<E>,SequencedCollection<E>
All Known Subinterfaces:
BlockingDeque<E>
All Known Implementing Classes:
ArrayDeque,ConcurrentLinkedDeque,LinkedBlockingDeque,LinkedList
public interfaceDeque<E>extendsQueue<E>,SequencedCollection<E>
A linear collection that supports element insertion and removal at both ends. The namedeque is short for "double ended queue" and is usually pronounced "deck". MostDeque implementations place no fixed limits on the number of elements they may contain, but this interface supports capacity-restricted deques as well as those with no fixed size limit.

This interface defines methods to access the elements at both ends of the deque. Methods are provided to insert, remove, and examine the element. Each of these methods exists in two forms: one throws an exception if the operation fails, the other returns a special value (eithernull orfalse, depending on the operation). The latter form of the insert operation is designed specifically for use with capacity-restrictedDeque implementations; in most implementations, insert operations cannot fail.

The twelve methods described above are summarized in the following table:

Summary of Deque methods
First Element (Head) Last Element (Tail)
Throws exceptionSpecial valueThrows exceptionSpecial value
InsertaddFirst(e)offerFirst(e)addLast(e)offerLast(e)
RemoveremoveFirst()pollFirst()removeLast()pollLast()
ExaminegetFirst()peekFirst()getLast()peekLast()

This interface extends theQueue interface. When a deque is used as a queue, FIFO (First-In-First-Out) behavior results. Elements are added at the end of the deque and removed from the beginning. The methods inherited from theQueue interface are precisely equivalent toDeque methods as indicated in the following table:

Comparison of Queue and Deque methods
Queue Method EquivalentDeque Method
add(e)addLast(e)
offer(e)offerLast(e)
remove()removeFirst()
poll()pollFirst()
element()getFirst()
peek()peekFirst()

Deques can also be used as LIFO (Last-In-First-Out) stacks. This interface should be used in preference to the legacyStack class. When a deque is used as a stack, elements are pushed and popped from the beginning of the deque. Stack methods are equivalent toDeque methods as indicated in the table below:

Comparison of Stack and Deque methods
Stack Method EquivalentDeque Method
push(e)addFirst(e)
pop()removeFirst()
peek()peekFirst()

Note that thepeek method works equally well when a deque is used as a queue or a stack; in either case, elements are drawn from the beginning of the deque.

This interface provides two methods to remove interior elements,removeFirstOccurrence andremoveLastOccurrence.

Unlike theList interface, this interface does not provide support for indexed access to elements.

WhileDeque implementations are not strictly required to prohibit the insertion of null elements, they are strongly encouraged to do so. Users of anyDeque implementations that do allow null elements are strongly encouragednot to take advantage of the ability to insert nulls. This is so becausenull is used as a special return value by various methods to indicate that the deque is empty.

Deque implementations generally do not define element-based versions of theequals andhashCode methods, but instead inherit the identity-based versions from classObject.

This interface is a member of the Java Collections Framework.

Since:
1.6

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    boolean
    add(E e)
    Inserts the specified element into the queue represented by this deque (in other words, at the tail of this deque) if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, returningtrue upon success and throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available.
    boolean
    addAll(Collection<? extendsE> c)
    Adds all of the elements in the specified collection at the end of this deque, as if by callingaddLast(E) on each one, in the order that they are returned by the collection's iterator.
    void
    Inserts the specified element at the front of this deque if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available.
    void
    Inserts the specified element at the end of this deque if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available.
    boolean
    Returnstrue if this deque contains the specified element.
    Returns an iterator over the elements in this deque in reverse sequential order.
    Retrieves, but does not remove, the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque).
    Retrieves, but does not remove, the first element of this deque.
    Retrieves, but does not remove, the last element of this deque.
    Returns an iterator over the elements in this deque in proper sequence.
    boolean
    offer(E e)
    Inserts the specified element into the queue represented by this deque (in other words, at the tail of this deque) if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, returningtrue upon success andfalse if no space is currently available.
    boolean
    Inserts the specified element at the front of this deque unless it would violate capacity restrictions.
    boolean
    Inserts the specified element at the end of this deque unless it would violate capacity restrictions.
    Retrieves, but does not remove, the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque), or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
    Retrieves, but does not remove, the first element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
    Retrieves, but does not remove, the last element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
    Retrieves and removes the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque), or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
    Retrieves and removes the first element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
    Retrieves and removes the last element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
    pop()
    Pops an element from the stack represented by this deque.
    void
    push(E e)
    Pushes an element onto the stack represented by this deque (in other words, at the head of this deque) if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available.
    Retrieves and removes the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque).
    boolean
    Removes the first occurrence of the specified element from this deque.
    Retrieves and removes the first element of this deque.
    boolean
    Removes the first occurrence of the specified element from this deque.
    Retrieves and removes the last element of this deque.
    boolean
    Removes the last occurrence of the specified element from this deque.
    defaultDeque<E>
    Returns a reverse-orderedview of this collection.
    int
    Returns the number of elements in this deque.

    Methods declared in interface java.lang.Iterable

    forEach

  • Method Details

    • addFirst

      void addFirst(E e)
      Inserts the specified element at the front of this deque if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available. When using a capacity-restricted deque, it is generally preferable to use methodofferFirst(E).
      Specified by:
      addFirst in interface SequencedCollection<E>
      Parameters:
      e - the element to add
      Throws:
      IllegalStateException - if the element cannot be added at this time due to capacity restrictions
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque

    • addLast

      void addLast(E e)
      Inserts the specified element at the end of this deque if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available. When using a capacity-restricted deque, it is generally preferable to use methodofferLast(E).

      This method is equivalent toadd(E).

      Specified by:
      addLast in interface SequencedCollection<E>
      Parameters:
      e - the element to add
      Throws:
      IllegalStateException - if the element cannot be added at this time due to capacity restrictions
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque

    • offerFirst

      boolean offerFirst(E e)
      Inserts the specified element at the front of this deque unless it would violate capacity restrictions. When using a capacity-restricted deque, this method is generally preferable to theaddFirst(E) method, which can fail to insert an element only by throwing an exception.
      Parameters:
      e - the element to add
      Returns:
      true if the element was added to this deque, elsefalse
      Throws:
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque

    • offerLast

      boolean offerLast(E e)
      Inserts the specified element at the end of this deque unless it would violate capacity restrictions. When using a capacity-restricted deque, this method is generally preferable to theaddLast(E) method, which can fail to insert an element only by throwing an exception.
      Parameters:
      e - the element to add
      Returns:
      true if the element was added to this deque, elsefalse
      Throws:
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque

    • removeFirst

      E removeFirst()
      Retrieves and removes the first element of this deque. This method differs frompollFirst only in that it throws an exception if this deque is empty.
      Specified by:
      removeFirst in interface SequencedCollection<E>
      Returns:
      the head of this deque
      Throws:
      NoSuchElementException - if this deque is empty

    • removeLast

      E removeLast()
      Retrieves and removes the last element of this deque. This method differs frompollLast only in that it throws an exception if this deque is empty.
      Specified by:
      removeLast in interface SequencedCollection<E>
      Returns:
      the tail of this deque
      Throws:
      NoSuchElementException - if this deque is empty

    • pollFirst

      E pollFirst()
      Retrieves and removes the first element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
      Returns:
      the head of this deque, ornull if this deque is empty

    • pollLast

      E pollLast()
      Retrieves and removes the last element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
      Returns:
      the tail of this deque, ornull if this deque is empty

    • getFirst

      E getFirst()
      Retrieves, but does not remove, the first element of this deque. This method differs frompeekFirst only in that it throws an exception if this deque is empty.
      Specified by:
      getFirst in interface SequencedCollection<E>
      Returns:
      the head of this deque
      Throws:
      NoSuchElementException - if this deque is empty

    • getLast

      E getLast()
      Retrieves, but does not remove, the last element of this deque. This method differs frompeekLast only in that it throws an exception if this deque is empty.
      Specified by:
      getLast in interface SequencedCollection<E>
      Returns:
      the tail of this deque
      Throws:
      NoSuchElementException - if this deque is empty

    • peekFirst

      E peekFirst()
      Retrieves, but does not remove, the first element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
      Returns:
      the head of this deque, ornull if this deque is empty

    • peekLast

      E peekLast()
      Retrieves, but does not remove, the last element of this deque, or returnsnull if this deque is empty.
      Returns:
      the tail of this deque, ornull if this deque is empty

    • removeFirstOccurrence

      boolean removeFirstOccurrence(Object o)
      Removes the first occurrence of the specified element from this deque. If the deque does not contain the element, it is unchanged. More formally, removes the first elemente such thatObjects.equals(o, e) (if such an element exists). Returnstrue if this deque contained the specified element (or equivalently, if this deque changed as a result of the call).
      Parameters:
      o - element to be removed from this deque, if present
      Returns:
      true if an element was removed as a result of this call
      Throws:
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element is incompatible with this deque (optional)
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements (optional)

    • removeLastOccurrence

      boolean removeLastOccurrence(Object o)
      Removes the last occurrence of the specified element from this deque. If the deque does not contain the element, it is unchanged. More formally, removes the last elemente such thatObjects.equals(o, e) (if such an element exists). Returnstrue if this deque contained the specified element (or equivalently, if this deque changed as a result of the call).
      Parameters:
      o - element to be removed from this deque, if present
      Returns:
      true if an element was removed as a result of this call
      Throws:
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element is incompatible with this deque (optional)
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements (optional)

    • add

      boolean add(E e)
      Inserts the specified element into the queue represented by this deque (in other words, at the tail of this deque) if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, returningtrue upon success and throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available. When using a capacity-restricted deque, it is generally preferable to useoffer.

      This method is equivalent toaddLast(E).

      Specified by:
      add in interface Collection<E>
      Specified by:
      add in interface Queue<E>
      Parameters:
      e - the element to add
      Returns:
      true (as specified byCollection.add(E))
      Throws:
      IllegalStateException - if the element cannot be added at this time due to capacity restrictions
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque

    • offer

      boolean offer(E e)
      Inserts the specified element into the queue represented by this deque (in other words, at the tail of this deque) if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, returningtrue upon success andfalse if no space is currently available. When using a capacity-restricted deque, this method is generally preferable to theadd(E) method, which can fail to insert an element only by throwing an exception.

      This method is equivalent toofferLast(E).

      Specified by:
      offer in interface Queue<E>
      Parameters:
      e - the element to add
      Returns:
      true if the element was added to this deque, elsefalse
      Throws:
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque

    • remove

      E remove()
      Retrieves and removes the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque). This method differs frompoll() only in that it throws an exception if this deque is empty.

      This method is equivalent toremoveFirst().

      Specified by:
      remove in interface Queue<E>
      Returns:
      the head of the queue represented by this deque
      Throws:
      NoSuchElementException - if this deque is empty

    • poll

      E poll()
      Retrieves and removes the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque), or returnsnull if this deque is empty.

      This method is equivalent topollFirst().

      Specified by:
      poll in interface Queue<E>
      Returns:
      the first element of this deque, ornull if this deque is empty

    • element

      E element()
      Retrieves, but does not remove, the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque). This method differs frompeek only in that it throws an exception if this deque is empty.

      This method is equivalent togetFirst().

      Specified by:
      element in interface Queue<E>
      Returns:
      the head of the queue represented by this deque
      Throws:
      NoSuchElementException - if this deque is empty

    • peek

      E peek()
      Retrieves, but does not remove, the head of the queue represented by this deque (in other words, the first element of this deque), or returnsnull if this deque is empty.

      This method is equivalent topeekFirst().

      Specified by:
      peek in interface Queue<E>
      Returns:
      the head of the queue represented by this deque, ornull if this deque is empty

    • addAll

      boolean addAll(Collection<? extendsE> c)
      Adds all of the elements in the specified collection at the end of this deque, as if by callingaddLast(E) on each one, in the order that they are returned by the collection's iterator.

      When using a capacity-restricted deque, it is generally preferable to calloffer separately on each element.

      An exception encountered while trying to add an element may result in only some of the elements having been successfully added when the associated exception is thrown.

      Specified by:
      addAll in interface Collection<E>
      Parameters:
      c - the elements to be inserted into this deque
      Returns:
      true if this deque changed as a result of the call
      Throws:
      IllegalStateException - if not all the elements can be added at this time due to insertion restrictions
      ClassCastException - if the class of an element of the specified collection prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified collection contains a null element and this deque does not permit null elements, or if the specified collection is null
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of an element of the specified collection prevents it from being added to this deque
      See Also:

    • push

      void push(E e)
      Pushes an element onto the stack represented by this deque (in other words, at the head of this deque) if it is possible to do so immediately without violating capacity restrictions, throwing anIllegalStateException if no space is currently available.

      This method is equivalent toaddFirst(E).

      Parameters:
      e - the element to push
      Throws:
      IllegalStateException - if the element cannot be added at this time due to capacity restrictions
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements
      IllegalArgumentException - if some property of the specified element prevents it from being added to this deque

    • pop

      E pop()
      Pops an element from the stack represented by this deque. In other words, removes and returns the first element of this deque.

      This method is equivalent toremoveFirst().

      Returns:
      the element at the front of this deque (which is the top of the stack represented by this deque)
      Throws:
      NoSuchElementException - if this deque is empty

    • remove

      boolean remove(Object o)
      Removes the first occurrence of the specified element from this deque. If the deque does not contain the element, it is unchanged. More formally, removes the first elemente such thatObjects.equals(o, e) (if such an element exists). Returnstrue if this deque contained the specified element (or equivalently, if this deque changed as a result of the call).

      This method is equivalent toremoveFirstOccurrence(Object).

      Specified by:
      remove in interface Collection<E>
      Parameters:
      o - element to be removed from this deque, if present
      Returns:
      true if an element was removed as a result of this call
      Throws:
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element is incompatible with this deque (optional)
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements (optional)

    • contains

      boolean contains(Object o)
      Returnstrue if this deque contains the specified element. More formally, returnstrue if and only if this deque contains at least one elemente such thatObjects.equals(o, e).
      Specified by:
      contains in interface Collection<E>
      Parameters:
      o - element whose presence in this deque is to be tested
      Returns:
      true if this deque contains the specified element
      Throws:
      ClassCastException - if the class of the specified element is incompatible with this deque (optional)
      NullPointerException - if the specified element is null and this deque does not permit null elements (optional)

    • size

      int size()
      Returns the number of elements in this deque.
      Specified by:
      size in interface Collection<E>
      Returns:
      the number of elements in this deque

    • iterator

      Iterator<E> iterator()
      Returns an iterator over the elements in this deque in proper sequence. The elements will be returned in order from first (head) to last (tail).
      Specified by:
      iterator in interface Collection<E>
      Specified by:
      iterator in interface Iterable<E>
      Returns:
      an iterator over the elements in this deque in proper sequence

    • descendingIterator

      Iterator<E> descendingIterator()
      Returns an iterator over the elements in this deque in reverse sequential order. The elements will be returned in order from last (tail) to first (head).
      Returns:
      an iterator over the elements in this deque in reverse sequence

    • reversed

      default Deque<E> reversed()
      Returns a reverse-orderedview of this collection. The encounter order of elements in the returned view is the inverse of the encounter order of elements in this collection. The reverse ordering affects all order-sensitive operations, including those on the view collections of the returned view. If the collection implementation permits modifications to this view, the modifications "write through" to the underlying collection. Changes to the underlying collection might or might not be visible in this reversed view, depending upon the implementation.
      Specified by:
      reversed in interface SequencedCollection<E>
      Implementation Requirements:
      The implementation in this interface returns a reverse-ordered Deque view. Thereversed() method of the view returns a reference to this Deque. Other operations on the view are implemented via calls to public methods on this Deque. The exact relationship between calls on the view and calls on this Deque is unspecified. However, order-sensitive operations generally behave as if they delegate to the appropriate method with the opposite orientation. For example, callinggetFirst on the view might result in a call togetLast on this Deque.
      Returns:
      a reverse-ordered view of this collection, as aDeque
      Since:
      21