Priority queue
A priority queue is an abstract data type that retrieves or removes elements according to assigned priority rather than insertion order.
Advanced Algorithms and Data Structures
A priority queue is an abstract data structure in which each element has a priority and removal returns an element with the highest or lowest priority according to the queue ordering.
- How it is used
- Selects the next task by priority rather than arrival order, then supports selection problems and larger algorithms.
- How deep it goes
- Defines the API, contrasts implementations and explains binary-heap invariants and array indexing; leaves detailed shortest-path algorithms for later.
- Examples
- Uses severity-ranked bug reports, finding the k largest elements, shortest paths and LFU cache eviction.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via a standard-library priority queue to retrieve highest-priority tasks independently of insertion order.
Read how Advanced Algorithms and Data Structures explains priority queue →
Classic Computer Science Problems in Swift: Essential techniques for practicing programmers
A priority queue is a data structure that removes elements according to priority rather than insertion order.
- How it is used
- Selects the lowest-estimated-cost node from an A* search frontier.
- How deep it goes
- Defines pop order and notes typical heap performance, but defers implementation to SwiftPriorityQueue.
- Examples
- Uses Swift search nodes whose Comparable ordering evaluates cost plus heuristic.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via SwiftPriorityQueue to order an A* frontier by estimated total cost.
Grokking Data Structures
A priority queue is a data structure that retrieves elements according to their priority rather than solely by insertion order.
- How it is used
- Selects the next item by urgency or another priority instead of insertion order.
- How deep it goes
- Defines insert and top, compares storage approaches, and reaches array-backed heaps and heapify.
- Examples
- Uses emergency-room triage and bug reports with four urgency levels.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch with an array-backed binary heap supporting logarithmic-time insert and top.
Python Concurrency with asyncio
A priority queue is a data structure that retrieves items according to assigned priority rather than insertion order.
- How it is used
- Prioritizes asynchronous producer-consumer work when some tasks must be processed before others.
- How deep it goes
- Defines heap ordering and demonstrates tuples, dataclasses, web orders, and tie-breaking without detailing heap internals.
- Examples
- Demonstrates prioritized queries, tuple and dataclass work items, web orders, and explicit sequence numbers for ties.
- What you can do after
- Build it with asyncio.PriorityQueue, ordered work items, worker coroutines, and explicit tie-breaking fields.
Read how Python Concurrency with asyncio explains priority queue →
Grokking AI Algorithms, Second Edition
A priority queue is a data structure that removes or presents elements according to priority rather than insertion order.
- How it is used
- Uses priority ordering to select the next most promising node during A* search.
- How deep it goes
- Explains queue behavior, A* processing steps, heap implementation, visited checks, and cost calculation.
- Examples
- Demonstrates priority ordering through abstract trees, maze nodes, A* flow diagrams, and Python heap code.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via a heap-based priority queue to implement or trace A* search through a maze.
Read how Grokking AI Algorithms, Second Edition explains priority queue →
Related concepts
- heapimplemented by · A binary heap is an almost complete binary tree in which each parent satisfies an ordering property relative to its children, enabling efficient access to a minimum or maximum element.
- queuekind of · A queue is an ordered collection that holds items for retrieval or processing, typically removing them in the order they were added.
- Dijkstra's algorithmused by · Dijkstra's algorithm computes shortest paths from a source vertex in a weighted graph with nonnegative edge weights.
- abstract data typekind of · An abstract data type specifies values, operations, and behavior independently of a particular representation or implementation.
- data structurekind of · A data structure is an organized representation of data and its relationships that supports defined operations for storing, accessing, or modifying it.
- A-star algorithmused by · A* is an informed graph-search algorithm that prioritizes paths or states by combining the cost incurred so far with a heuristic estimate of the remaining cost to a goal.
These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.