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3 | 3 | In C++, the Standard Template Library (STL) provides an efficient way to implement heaps (priority queues) using the `priority_queue` container. This makes it easy to create both max-heaps and min-heaps without having to implement the heap operations manually. Let’s go over the code you provided and explain each part, as well as the specifics of using STL for heaps. |
4 | 4 |
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| 5 | +## Priority Queue |
| 6 | +A priority queue is a specialized data structure that operates similarly to a regular queue but with an added feature: each element has a "priority" associated with it. In a priority queue, elements are removed based on priority rather than their order of insertion. |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +### Key Characteristics of a Priority Queue: |
| 9 | +1. **Priority-Based Access**: The element with the highest priority is always at the front of the queue and will be the next to be removed, regardless of when it was added. |
| 10 | +2. **Dynamic Reordering**: When elements are added, the priority queue automatically rearranges to keep the highest priority element at the front. |
| 11 | +3. **Different Types of Heaps**: The two most common types of priority queues are: |
| 12 | + - **Max-Heap**: The element with the highest priority (maximum value) is at the front. |
| 13 | + - **Min-Heap**: The element with the lowest priority (minimum value) is at the front. |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +### How a Priority Queue Works: |
| 16 | +Priority queues are often implemented using a data structure called a **heap** (specifically, a binary heap), as it provides efficient access to the maximum or minimum element and allows for efficient insertions and deletions. |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +### Priority Queue Operations and Their Complexity: |
| 19 | +1. **Insertion (`push`)**: Adding a new element to the queue. In a binary heap, this operation has a time complexity of \(O(\log n)\) because it might require "heapifying" the structure to maintain the priority order. |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +2. **Accessing the Top Element (`top`)**: Accessing the highest (or lowest) priority element. In a priority queue, this is the element at the root of the heap, and this operation has a time complexity of \(O(1)\) since the root is always directly accessible. |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +3. **Removing the Top Element (`pop`)**: Removing the highest (or lowest) priority element. In a binary heap, this operation has a time complexity of \(O(\log n)\) because after removing the root, the structure must be adjusted to restore the heap property. |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +4. **Checking if Empty (`empty`)**: Checking whether the queue contains any elements, with a time complexity of \(O(1)\). |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +5. **Getting Size (`size`)**: Retrieving the number of elements in the queue, also with a time complexity of \(O(1)\). |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +### Example of Priority Queue Operations: |
| 30 | +Let’s illustrate priority queue operations using a max-heap and min-heap: |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +1. **Max-Heap Priority Queue** |
| 33 | + - Suppose you add elements `[4, 2, 5, 3]` to a max-heap. |
| 34 | + - After each insertion, the priority queue will ensure the element with the largest value is at the root. |
| 35 | + - Accessing the top element (`top`) will return `5`, the maximum value. |
| 36 | + - Removing the top element (`pop`) will remove `5`, and `4` will then become the top element. |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +2. **Min-Heap Priority Queue** |
| 39 | + - In a min-heap priority queue, the smallest element has the highest priority. |
| 40 | + - With elements `[4, 2, 5, 3]`, the heap will reorder itself to place `2` (the smallest) at the top. |
| 41 | + - Accessing the top element will return `2`. |
| 42 | + - Removing the top element will then return the next smallest element (`3`). |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +### Use Cases of Priority Queues: |
| 45 | +1. **Scheduling Systems**: Task scheduling in operating systems uses priority queues to decide which task to run next based on priority. |
| 46 | +2. **Dijkstra's Algorithm**: Used in finding the shortest path in graph algorithms, where nodes with the smallest tentative distance are processed first. |
| 47 | +3. **Event Simulation**: Events in simulations are scheduled based on time or priority. |
| 48 | +4. **Data Processing**: Situations where items with higher priority need to be processed first, such as in message or packet processing. |
| 49 | + |
| 50 | +### Priority Queue in C++ STL: |
| 51 | +In C++, priority queues are implemented using the `priority_queue` container from the Standard Template Library (STL), which provides a convenient way to work with both max-heaps and min-heaps. |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +- **Max-Heap**: `priority_queue<int> max_pq;` (by default, the highest number has the highest priority). |
| 54 | +- **Min-Heap**: `priority_queue<int, vector<int>, greater<int>> min_pq;` (using `greater<int>` to give the lowest number the highest priority). |
| 55 | + |
5 | 56 | ## Source code |
6 | 57 | ```cpp |
7 | 58 | #include <iostream> |
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