If we have an unordered list of elements we can use the heapq module to turn it into a priority queue. The heapq module implements a complete binary tree. When polling items from the queue, we simply get the node on top of the heap. Whenever we add a new value, the reordering process ensures that the new item is placed at the position corresponding to its priority in the heap. The item with the lowest value has the highest priority. To implement a priority queue using a min-heap, we would assign priorities in ascending order. For example, if 5 and 6 were exchanged, the heap property would still be maintained. Note that the nodes at the same level do not need to come in strictly ascending order. For example, if we add 1 to a min heap with 2 at the top, one will percolate up.Īfter the reordering process has finished, the tree will look like this. Whenever you add a new node with a smaller value than the largest nodes, it will percolate up to its position in the tree while the larger values will percolate down. In a min heap, the node with the smallest value sits on top. In a max heap, the node with the largest value sits on top. A binary tree consists of a hierarchy of nodes where each parent node always has two child nodes. What is a Heap?Ī heap implements a binary tree structure. In Python, a common way to implement a priority queue is the heapq module. To implement a priority queue you need a concrete data structure such as a binary heap. But they do not define an implementation. Abstract data structures define the expected behavior such as that items should be ordered by priority. is empty: check whether the queue is emptyĪ priority queue represents an abstract data structure.pop: retrieves the item with the highest priority that is first in the queue.add: adds an item to the end of the queue.When two elements have the same priority, the queue serves them in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) order.Ī priority queue generally supports at least three operations: Items with higher priorities are dequeued first even if they are not at the front of the line. What is a Priority Queue?Ī priority queue extends the queue by associating items with priorities. Therefore, we will look at the later two ways and also learn how to create our own priority queue class on the basis of a heap. The first way is really not recommended because it is inefficient and prone to errors. Use the priority queue implementation from Python’s Queue package.Use a binary heap on the basis of Python’s heapq module.Create a list and keep it manually sorted.There are 3 main ways to implement and use a priority queue in Python: In this post we learn how to create priority queues using Python.
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