@datastructures-js/heap

What is @datastructures-js/heap?

@datastructures-js/heap is an npm package that provides implementations of heap data structures, including MinHeap and MaxHeap. These data structures are useful for efficiently managing and retrieving the minimum or maximum element in a collection, which is particularly useful in algorithms like priority queues, Dijkstra's algorithm, and more.

What are @datastructures-js/heap's main functionalities?

MinHeap

The MinHeap feature allows you to create a heap where the smallest element is always at the root. This is useful for scenarios where you need to efficiently retrieve the minimum element.

const { MinHeap } = require('@datastructures-js/heap');
const minHeap = new MinHeap();
minHeap.insert(5);
minHeap.insert(3);
minHeap.insert(8);
console.log(minHeap.extractRoot()); // 3
console.log(minHeap.root()); // 5

MaxHeap

The MaxHeap feature allows you to create a heap where the largest element is always at the root. This is useful for scenarios where you need to efficiently retrieve the maximum element.

const { MaxHeap } = require('@datastructures-js/heap');
const maxHeap = new MaxHeap();
maxHeap.insert(5);
maxHeap.insert(3);
maxHeap.insert(8);
console.log(maxHeap.extractRoot()); // 8
console.log(maxHeap.root()); // 5

Heapify an Array

The heapify feature allows you to convert an existing array into a heap. This is useful for initializing a heap with a predefined set of elements.

const { MinHeap } = require('@datastructures-js/heap');
const array = [5, 3, 8, 1, 2];
const minHeap = MinHeap.heapify(array);
console.log(minHeap.root()); // 1

Heap Sort

Heap sort is a sorting algorithm that uses a heap to sort elements. This feature demonstrates how to use a MinHeap to sort an array in ascending order.

const { MinHeap } = require('@datastructures-js/heap');
const array = [5, 3, 8, 1, 2];
const minHeap = MinHeap.heapify(array);
const sortedArray = [];
while (!minHeap.isEmpty()) {
  sortedArray.push(minHeap.extractRoot());
}
console.log(sortedArray); // [1, 2, 3, 5, 8]

Other packages similar to @datastructures-js/heap

heap-js

heap-js is another npm package that provides heap data structures. It supports both MinHeap and MaxHeap and offers similar functionalities to @datastructures-js/heap. One key difference is that heap-js provides additional customization options for the comparator function, allowing for more flexible heap implementations.

js-priority-queue

js-priority-queue is a package that implements a priority queue using a binary heap. It offers similar functionalities to @datastructures-js/heap but focuses more on the priority queue aspect. It provides a simple API for managing elements with priorities, making it a good choice for applications that require priority-based element retrieval.

heap

heap is a minimalistic package that provides a binary heap implementation. It supports both MinHeap and MaxHeap and offers basic heap operations. Compared to @datastructures-js/heap, it has a smaller feature set but is lightweight and easy to use for simple heap operations.

README

@datastructures-js/heap

Docs

https://datastructures-js.info/docs/heap

Changelog

[4.3.5] - 2025-08-25

Fixed

• README