binary priority queue (original) (raw)

(data structure)

**Definition:**A priority queue implemented with a binary tree having the following restrictions:

• The key of a node is greater than keys of its children, i.e., it has the heap property.
• If the right subtree is not empty, the left subtree is not empty.
• If there are both left and right children, the left child's key is greater than the right child's key.

Generalization (I am a kind of ...)
priority queue.

Aggregate child (... is a part of or used in me.)
binary tree, heap property.

See also leftist tree, heap.

Note: The subtree restriction means that when inserting at a leaf, the left subtree is always used before the right subtree. Favoring the left subtree tends to make the tree taller and thinner.

After [GBY91, pages 223-225].

Author: PEB

Implementation

Gonnet and Baeza-Yates insert (C and Pascal) and delete (C and Pascal)

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Entry modified 12 February 2019.
HTML page formatted Wed Oct 30 12:15:30 2024.

Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "binary priority queue", inDictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed. 12 February 2019. (accessed TODAY) Available from: https://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/binaryPriorityQueue.html