PRIORITY QUEUES (HEAPS)

• Priority Queue: A priority queue is an abstract

data type that operates similarly to a regular
queue but with an added feature: each
element has a priority associated with it.
Elements are served based on their priority
rather than just their order in the queue. In
essence, higher priority elements are
processed before lower priority ones.
• Key Features:
• Dynamic: Can insert elements at any time.
• Priority-Based: Elements are removed based
on priority rather than FIFO (first-in, first-out)
order.
• Efficient Access: Allows for efficient retrieval
of the highest (or lowest) priority element.
• Implementation of Priority Queues
• Common Implementations:
• Heaps: A common way to implement a priority queue is
through a heap data structure, particularly a binary heap.
• Unordered Lists: Elements can be added to a list, but finding
and removing the highest priority element can be inefficient.
• Ordered Lists: Maintaining a sorted list allows for efficient
removal of the highest priority but can be costly for insertions.
• Binary Search Trees: Can also be used to maintain order and
allow for efficient retrieval.
• Heaps
• A heap is a specialized tree-based data structure
that satisfies the heap property. Heaps come in two
main types:
• Max Heap: The parent node is greater than or
equal to its child nodes. This means the highest
priority element is always at the root.
• Min Heap: The parent node is less than or equal to
its child nodes, making the lowest priority element
accessible at the root.
• Properties of Heaps:
• Complete Binary Tree: Heaps are often
implemented as complete binary trees,
meaning all levels are fully filled except possibly
the last one, which is filled from left to right.
• Heap Order Property: In a max heap, the value
of each node is greater than or equal to the
values of its children. In a min heap, it is less
than or equal.
 Basic Operations
• Insertion:
• Add the new element at the end of the heap
(maintaining the complete tree property).
• "Bubble up" (or sift up) the new element to
restore the heap property.
• Find Maximum/Minimum:
• The maximum (in a max heap) or minimum (in a
min heap) element can be accessed directly
from the root of the heap.
• Deletion:
• Remove the root element.
• Replace the root with the last element in the
heap.
• "Bubble down" (or sift down) the new root to
restore the heap property.
• Heapify:
• Convert an unordered array into a heap by
repeatedly applying the sift-down operation.
 Complexity

• Insertion: O(log⁡n)
• Deletion: O(log⁡n)
• Accessing Max/Min: O(1)
• Heapify: O(n) for building a heap from an
unordered array.
 Applications of Priority Queues

• Task Scheduling: Operating systems use priority

queues for scheduling processes based on priority.
• Graph Algorithms: Algorithms like Dijkstra's and
Prim's use priority queues to manage the exploration
of nodes based on cost or distance.
• Event Simulation: Simulating events in order of their
occurrence times.
• Data Compression: Huffman coding uses priority
queues to build trees based on frequency of
characters.
 Structure Property of Heaps
• The structure property of heaps is fundamental to
their design and functionality. Let's break it down:
1. Complete Binary Tree
• Definition: A heap is always represented as a complete
binary tree. This means:
– Every level of the tree is fully filled, except possibly for the
last level, which is filled from left to right.
• Implications:
– This structure allows heaps to be efficiently stored in an
array format, without needing pointers for child nodes. The
relationships between parent and child nodes can be easily
calculated using simple index arithmetic.
 2. Array Representation
• In a complete binary tree, the structure property
allows for a straightforward array representation:
• Indexing:
– If a node is located at index i:

– This array representation makes it easy to traverse and

manipulate the heap without needing additional
memory for pointers.
 3. Heap Order Property
• The heap also satisfies a specific order
property based on whether it’s a max heap or
a min heap:
Max Heap:
• Definition: In a max heap, for any given node
n, the value of n is greater than or equal to the
values of its children.
– If n is a parent node, then n ≥ left child and
n ≥ right child
 Min Heap:

• Definition: In a min heap, for any given node

n, the value of n is less than or equal to the
values of its children.
• If n is a parent node, then n ≤ left child and
n ≤ right child
 Summary of Structure Properties

• Complete Binary Tree: Ensures efficient use of

space and supports array representation.
• Array Representation: Simplifies access to
parent and child nodes using index
calculations.
• Heap Order Property: Maintains the max or
min condition, ensuring efficient retrieval of
the highest or lowest priority element.