Data Structures -> Monotonic Stack / Queue

One linear scan, one domination rule: use monotonic stacks for boundaries and deques for fixed-width extrema.

• Topic slug: data-structures/monotonic-stack-queue
• Tutorial page: Open tutorial
• Ladder page: Open ladder
• Repo problems currently tagged here: 1
• Repo companion pages: 3
• Curated external problems: 3

Microtopics

• previous-smaller
• next-smaller
• monotonic-stack
• monotonic-deque
• sliding-window-minmax
• histogram-boundaries

Learning Sources

Source	Type
cp-algorithms minimum stack / minimum queue	Reference
Competitive Programmer's Handbook	Reference

Practice Sources

Source	Type
CSES Nearest Smaller Values	Practice
CSES Sliding Window Minimum	Practice
CSES Advertisement	Practice

Repo Companion Material

Material	Type
Monotonic Stack / Queue hot sheet	quick reference
Nearest Smaller Values note	anchor note
Data structures cheatsheet	broader chooser

Curated External Problems

Core

Problem	Source	Difficulty	Context	Style	Prerequisites	Tags	Why it fits
Nearest Smaller Values	CSES	Medium	Monotonic Stack	Implementation; Amortized	Stacks; Indices; Strict Comparators	Previous-Smaller; Boundary	The canonical first boundary-scan problem for the monotonic-stack side of the family.
Sliding Window Minimum	CSES	Medium	Monotonic Deque	Implementation; Streaming	Deque; Window Expiry; Amortized Reasoning	Window-Minimum; Stream	The queue-side canonical benchmark where domination pops and window expiry are both visible.

Classics

Problem	Source	Difficulty	Context	Style	Prerequisites	Tags	Why it fits
Advertisement	CSES	Medium	Monotonic Stack	Implementation; Geometry-On-Array	Boundary Indices	Histogram; Nearest-Smaller; Rectangle Area	A strong follow-up where nearest-smaller boundaries turn directly into widths.

Repo Problems

Code	Title	Fit	Difficulty	Pattern	Note	Solution
NEARESTSMALLERVALUES	Nearest Smaller Values	primary	medium	-	Note	Code

Regeneration

python3 scripts/generate_problem_catalog.py