Balanced Parentheses Problem Using Stack in DSA C# - Interactive Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to push an opening parenthesis onto the stack.

DSA C#

if (ch == '(') {
    stack.[1](ch);
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

APop

BPush

CPeek

DClear

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using Pop instead of Push will remove an element instead of adding.

Using Peek only looks at the top element without adding.

We use stack.Push() to add an element to the top of the stack.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to check if the stack is empty before popping.

DSA C#

if (stack.[1] == 0) {
    return false;
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

ACapacity

BLength

CSize

DCount

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using Length or Size causes compile errors because Stack does not have these properties.

Stack.Count gives the number of elements currently in the stack.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in popping the top element from the stack.

DSA C#

char top = stack.[1]();

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

APop

BPeek

CRemove

DDelete

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using Peek does not remove the element, so the stack remains unchanged.

Remove and Delete are not valid Stack methods in C#.

stack.Pop() removes and returns the top element from the stack.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to check if the current closing parenthesis matches the last opening one.

DSA C#

if (ch == ')' && top != [1]) {
    return [2];
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A'('

Btrue

Cfalse

D'['

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Returning true here would incorrectly say parentheses are balanced.

Checking against '[' is wrong for ')'.

A closing ')' must match an opening '('. If not, return false.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to complete the dictionary comprehension that maps opening to closing parentheses.

DSA C#

var pairs = new Dictionary<char, char> {
    { [1], ')' },
    { [2], '}' },
    { [3], ']' }
};

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A'('

B'{'

C'['

D'<'

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '<' is incorrect because it is not a standard bracket in this problem.

Mixing keys and values will cause errors.

The dictionary maps '(' to ')', '{' to '}', and '[' to ']'.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of using a stack in the Balanced Parentheses Problem?

easy

A. To count the total number of parentheses in the string

B. To keep track of opening parentheses and match them with closing ones

C. To reverse the order of parentheses in the string

D. To sort the parentheses based on their type

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of stack in parentheses matching

   A stack helps keep track of opening parentheses so that each closing parenthesis can be matched correctly in order.

2. Step 2: Identify why other options are incorrect

   Counting or reversing parentheses does not solve the matching problem, and sorting is unrelated to balance checking.

3. Final Answer:

   To keep track of opening parentheses and match them with closing ones -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Stack tracks openings for matching closings [OK]

Hint: Stack stores openings to match closings in order [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking stack counts parentheses instead of matching
• Confusing stack with queue for this problem
• Assuming stack reverses parentheses order

2. Which of the following C# code snippets correctly pushes an opening parenthesis onto a stack named stack?

easy

A. stack.Push('(');

B. stack.Add('(');

C. stack.Insert('(');

D. stack.Enqueue('(');

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall stack method to add elements

   In C#, the method to add an element to a stack is Push().

2. Step 2: Identify incorrect methods

   Add() and Insert() are not stack methods; Enqueue() is for queues.

3. Final Answer:

   stack.Push('('); -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use Push() to add to stack [OK]

Hint: Use Push() to add elements to stack in C# [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using queue methods like Enqueue() on stack
• Trying to use Add() or Insert() which don't exist for stack
• Confusing stack with list methods

3. What will be the output of the following C# code snippet?

string input = "({[]})";
Stack<char> stack = new Stack<char>();
foreach (char c in input) {
  if (c == '(' || c == '{' || c == '[') {
    stack.Push(c);
  } else {
    if (stack.Count == 0) {
      Console.WriteLine("Unbalanced");
      return;
    }
    char top = stack.Pop();
    if ((c == ')' && top != '(') || (c == '}' && top != '{') || (c == ']' && top != '[')) {
      Console.WriteLine("Unbalanced");
      return;
    }
  }
}
if (stack.Count == 0) Console.WriteLine("Balanced"); else Console.WriteLine("Unbalanced");

medium

A. Runtime Error

B. Unbalanced

C. No Output

D. Balanced

Solution

1. Step 1: Trace the input string character by character

   Opening brackets '(', '{', '[' are pushed onto the stack. Closing brackets pop and check matching. The input "({[]})" is perfectly nested.

2. Step 2: Check stack emptiness after processing

   After processing all characters, stack is empty, so output is "Balanced".

3. Final Answer:

   Balanced -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   All pairs matched, stack empty = Balanced [OK]

Hint: Match each closing with last opening using stack [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Not checking stack empty before popping
• Mismatching bracket pairs
• Ignoring stack emptiness at end

4. Identify the bug in the following C# code snippet for checking balanced parentheses:

Stack<char> stack = new Stack<char>();
foreach (char c in input) {
  if (c == '(' || c == '{' || c == '[') {
    stack.Push(c);
  } else {
    char top = stack.Pop();
    if ((c == ')' && top != '(') || (c == '}' && top != '{') || (c == ']' && top != '[')) {
      return false;
    }
  }
}
return stack.Count == 0;

medium

A. Not returning true when balanced

B. Incorrect matching of parentheses pairs

C. Missing check if stack is empty before Pop()

D. Using stack.Push() instead of Pop() for closing brackets

Solution

1. Step 1: Check for stack underflow before popping

   The code pops from stack without checking if it's empty, which can cause runtime error if closing bracket appears first.

2. Step 2: Confirm matching logic is correct

   Matching pairs are correctly checked, and return false if mismatch occurs.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing check if stack is empty before Pop() -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Always check stack empty before Pop() [OK]

Hint: Check stack empty before Pop() to avoid errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Popping from empty stack causing exceptions
• Ignoring stack.Count == 0 before Pop()
• Confusing Push and Pop methods

5. Given the string "[{()}]({[]})", which of the following modifications to the balanced parentheses algorithm will correctly handle this input and return true?

Options:
A) Ignore all characters except parentheses.
B) Use a stack and match pairs as usual.
C) Use two stacks, one for opening and one for closing parentheses.
D) Use a queue instead of a stack to track parentheses.

hard

A. Use a stack and match pairs as usual.

B. Ignore all characters except parentheses.

C. Use two stacks, one for opening and one for closing parentheses.

D. Use a queue instead of a stack to track parentheses.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the input and algorithm

   The input contains only parentheses characters. The standard stack-based matching algorithm works for nested and sequential pairs.

2. Step 2: Evaluate each option's correctness

   Use a stack and match pairs as usual. is correct as it uses the standard stack approach. Ignore all characters except parentheses. is irrelevant since input has only parentheses. Use two stacks, one for opening and one for closing parentheses. complicates unnecessarily. Use a queue instead of a stack to track parentheses. fails because queue does not track last opening bracket.

3. Final Answer:

   Use a stack and match pairs as usual. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Standard stack method handles nested pairs [OK]

Hint: Standard stack method works for all balanced parentheses [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to use queue which breaks matching order
• Overcomplicating with multiple stacks
• Ignoring characters that are not parentheses