Populate stack with deck of cards Java

Question

I am currently designing a java application that will perform many different operations on a shuffled deck of cards. Within the application I have:

• Stack.java: This is the interface for the program, including methods like pop,push, peek
• Deck.java: My deck class, which implements stack
• Card.java: Card object class
• Shuffle.java: Contains the code to perform the riffle shuffle on the card
• CardForce.java: Main class

The cards within my program can be described as having a face(A,2,3,4..J,K,Q) a suit(Hearts,Diamonds,Clubs,Spades) and a value which corresponds to the face ie
A = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3 and so on.

public Card(String cardFace, String cardSuit, int cardValue){
    face = cardFace;
    suit = cardSuit;
    value = cardValue;
}//ends Card

Currently I have my cards stored within an ArrayList within my deck class.

public class Deck implements Stack{


private List<Card> cards;

private int size;//number of cards in deck


public Deck(String[] faces, String[] suits, int[] values){
   cards = new ArrayList<Card>();
   for(String suit: suits) 
       for(int value = 0; value < values.length && value < faces.length; value++){
           Card a = new Card(faces[value], suit, values[value]);
           cards.add(a);
       }
   size = cards.size();
   //////////////////////////////////////shuffle();
   shuffle();
}//ends deck

I am looking to change my deck of cards from an arraylist to a stack, so I can perform the operations like pop, push & peek. Any help on how to implement those operations after the list has been converted to a stack is also welcome.

Answer 1

You can just add the stack functions to your Deck class and use the ArrayList as a stack. Something like this:

public void push(Card c) {
  cards.add(c);
}

public Card pop() {
  Card c = cards.get(cards.size() - 1);
  cards.remove(cards.size() - 1);
  return c;
}

public Card peek() {
  return cards.get(cards.size() - 1);
}

You will need to add checks to pop and peek to make sure there are actually Cards in your deck, but this pretty much covers it.

Answer 2

Just use the Stack class in the JDK it will support those capabilities.

You can populate a Stack with an arraylist.

      List<Card> list = your array list
      Stack<Card> stack = new Stack<>();
      stack.addAll(list);