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Stacking up
Rod Main, meanwhile, is still thinking about the definition of a stack: that is, you put things on the top, and take them off the top (as opposed to a queue, which is being called a ‘FIFO stack’).
‘When the M20 shuts because of weather, strikes or whatever, thus holding up the ferry services, the police put into place “Operation Stack”. Surely this is a misnomer because the first in will be first out, which is the definition of queue,’ he says.
‘By extension, travel reports shouldn’t say “traffic is stacked up for miles” but that it is queuing for miles.’
In true ‘oh no it isn’t’ panto spirit, Kevin Groves at Ardo UK writes to berate us for claiming that there is no such thing as a FIFO stack. ‘Of course there is. One such example is a keyboard buffer,’ he says.
‘Definitely a queue, not a stack,’ says Nick Ebbitt at Premier Line Direct.
‘This was one of the first things I learned and probably the last thing I’ll remember from my computing degree course. As I originally suggested The Stack as the pub name, can I have my name above the front door?’
No. And no picture of a keyboard either. So we need some suggestions.
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