I have a simple stack class. It uses a linked list for its data structure and it is of type template so any datatype (including pointers) can be passed in. It can be initialized on the stack or on the heap. It does only what a stack should do and nothing more.

It is constructed entirely in the header file to avoid compiler errors for missing types(I believe that's standard procedure for template). I created it with Xcode on a mac and have not tested it on Linux or Windows yet for compiler errors. The code is well commented and warns the caller they are responsible for deletion of heap allocated objects(just like a C++ vector would be). I want to discuss this topic in a blog or something so I want to make sure it is correct.

My Stack:

#ifndef TStack_h
#define TStack_h

#include <iostream>
#include <stdexcept>


template <class T> class TStack{

public:

//####################################
//          Constructor.
//####################################

TStack();

//####################################
//          Destructor.
//####################################

~TStack();

//####################################
//          Class methods.
//####################################

/**
 *  Adds an item to the stack.
 *  <b>Notes:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A <br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Arguments:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; template<class T>: the type of the class.<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Return:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Throws</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A<br>
 */
void push(T elem);


/**
 *  Removes the data item at the beginning of the stack.
 *  <b>Notes:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; Caller is responsible for releasing objects that are popped from the stack.<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Arguments:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A <br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Return:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;dataType T: the type<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Throws</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; out_of_range exception for an empty stack.<br>
 */
T pop();

/**
 *  The size of the stack.
 *  <b>Notes:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;N/A<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Arguments:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A <br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Return:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;int : The size of the stack.<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Throws</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A<br>
 */
int getSize();

/**
 *  Reports if the stack is empty.
 *  <b>Notes:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;N/A<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Arguments:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A <br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Return:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;int : Whether the stack is empty of not.<br>
 *  ------<br>
 *  <b>Throws</b><br>
 *  &nbsp; N/A<br>
 */
bool isEmpty();

//####################################
//      End - Class methods.
//####################################

private:


/**
 *  A linked list node struct.
 *  <b>Notes:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;N/A<br>
 **/
struct Node{
    
    T data_;
    Node* next_;
    
};


/**
 *  The size of the stack.
 *  <b>Notes:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;N/A<br>
 **/
int size_;

/**
 *  The head of the linked list(stack).
 *  <b>Notes:</b><br>
 *  &nbsp;N/A<br>
 **/
Node *head_;

};

//####################################
//          Constructor.
//####################################
template <class T> TStack <T>::TStack(){

    this->size_ = 0;
    this->head_ = NULL;
}

//####################################
//          Destructor.
//####################################
template <class T> TStack <T>::~TStack(){

    // Nothing to tear down.
}

//####################################
//       Class TStack Methods.
//####################################
template<class T> void TStack< T >::push(T elem){


    Node * newNode = new Node();
    newNode->data_ = elem;
    newNode->next_ = NULL;


    // If the head is NULL just assign it to newNode();
    if(this->head_ == NULL){
    
        this->head_= newNode;
    
    }else{
    
        newNode->next_ = this->head_;
        this->head_ = newNode;
    }

    this->size_ += 1;

}


template<class T> T TStack< T >::pop(){

// Suppress compile error for "Control reaches end
// of statement". We will throw an exception if the
// stack is empty.
#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wreturn-type"

    try{

        if(this->isEmpty() == false){
        
            Node *temp = this->head_;
            this->head_ = this->head_->next_;
            this->size_ --;
            return temp->data_;
        
            // If we just popped the last node, set head to NULL.
            if(this->isEmpty() == true)
                this->head_ = NULL;

        
        }else{
        
            throw std::out_of_range("The Stack Is Empty!");
        }
    
    }catch (const std::out_of_range& e) {
    
        std::cerr <<e.what() <<std::endl;
    }

}



template<class T> int TStack<T>::getSize(){

    return this->size_;
}


template<class T> bool TStack<T>::isEmpty(){

    if(this->size_ > 0)
        return false;

    return true;
    
}

//####################################
//      End Class TStack Methods.
//####################################

//####################################
//      End Class TStack.
//####################################


#endif

Example main.cpp:

#include <iostream>
#include "TStack.h"


int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) {

    int* one = new int(34);
    int* two = new int(68);
    int* three = new int(72);
    TStack<int*> myStack;
    myStack.push(one);
    myStack.push(two);
    myStack.push(three);

    while(myStack.getSize() > 0){
    
        int* ans = myStack.pop();
        std::cout<<"Value: "<<*ans<<std::endl;
        delete ans;
    }
    // Throws and catches exception gracefully and logs the stack is empty.
    int* ans = myStack.pop();

    return 0;
}