Stack-oriented programming is a programming paradigm that relies on one or more stacks to manipulate data and/or pass parameters. Programming constructs in other programming languages need to be modified for use in a stack-oriented system. Most stack-oriented languages operate in postfix or Reverse Polish notation: arguments or parameters for a command are listed before that command. For example, postfix notation would be written 2, 3, multiply instead of multiply, 2, 3 (prefix or Polish notation), or 2 multiply 3 (infix notation). The programming languages Forth, Factor, RPL, PostScript, BibTeX style design language and many assembly languages fit this paradigm.

Stack-based algorithms manipulate data by popping data from and pushing data to the stack. Operators govern how the stack manipulates data. To emphasize the effect of a statement, a comment is often used showing the top of the stack before and after the statement; this is known as the stack effect diagram. Some stack-oriented languages may use multiple stacks for different purposes; for example, PostScript uses separate stacks for variables, dictionaries, procedures, some typical procedures, and control flow statements. Analysis of the language model allows expressions and programs to be interpreted simply.