What is @datastructures-js/priority-queue?
@datastructures-js/priority-queue is an npm package that provides a robust implementation of a priority queue data structure. It allows you to manage a collection of elements where each element is associated with a priority, and elements are served based on their priority.
What are @datastructures-js/priority-queue's main functionalities?
Creating a Priority Queue
This code demonstrates how to create a new instance of a MinPriorityQueue using the @datastructures-js/priority-queue package.
const { MinPriorityQueue } = require('@datastructures-js/priority-queue');
const pq = new MinPriorityQueue();
Adding Elements
This code shows how to add elements to the priority queue with associated priorities.
pq.enqueue('task1', 1);
pq.enqueue('task2', 2);
Removing Elements
This code demonstrates how to remove and return the element with the highest priority from the priority queue.
const highestPriorityElement = pq.dequeue();
Peeking at the Highest Priority Element
This code shows how to peek at the element with the highest priority without removing it from the queue.
const highestPriorityElement = pq.front();
Checking if the Queue is Empty
This code demonstrates how to check if the priority queue is empty.
const isEmpty = pq.isEmpty();
Other packages similar to @datastructures-js/priority-queue
js-priority-queue
js-priority-queue is another npm package that provides a priority queue implementation. It supports both min and max priority queues and allows for custom comparison functions. Compared to @datastructures-js/priority-queue, js-priority-queue offers more flexibility in terms of custom comparison but may have a steeper learning curve.
heap
heap is an npm package that provides a binary heap implementation, which can be used to create priority queues. It supports both min-heaps and max-heaps. Compared to @datastructures-js/priority-queue, heap is more low-level and may require more manual handling of heap properties.
priorityqueuejs
priorityqueuejs is a simple and efficient priority queue implementation in JavaScript. It supports custom comparators and is easy to use. Compared to @datastructures-js/priority-queue, priorityqueuejs is more lightweight but may lack some advanced features.
@datastructures-js/priority-queue

A heap-based implementation of priority queue in javascript with typescript support.
Contents
Install
npm install --save @datastructures-js/priority-queue
API
PriorityQueue class allows using a compare function between values. MinPriorityQueue & MaxPriorityQueue can be used for primitive values and objects with known comparison prop.
require
const {
PriorityQueue,
MinPriorityQueue,
MaxPriorityQueue,
} = require('@datastructures-js/priority-queue');
import
import {
PriorityQueue,
MinPriorityQueue,
MaxPriorityQueue,
ICompare,
IGetCompareValue,
} from '@datastructures-js/priority-queue';
constructor
PriorityQueue
constructor requires a compare function that works similar to javascript sort callback, returning a number bigger than 0, means swap elements.
TS
interface ICar {
year: number;
price: number;
}
const compareCars: ICompare<ICar> = (a: ICar, b: ICar) => {
if (a.year > b.year) {
return -1;
}
if (a.year < b.year) {
return 1;
}
return a.price < b.price ? -1 : 1;
};
const carsQueue = new PriorityQueue<ICar>(compareCars);
JS
const carsQueue = new PriorityQueue((a, b) => {
if (a.year > b.year) {
return -1;
}
if (a.year < b.year) {
return 1;
}
return a.price < b.price ? -1 : 1;
}
);
MinPriorityQueue, MaxPriorityQueue
constructor requires a callback for object values to indicate which prop is used for comparison, and does not require any for primitive values like numbers or strings.
TS
const numbersQueue = new MinPriorityQueue<number>();
interface IBid {
id: number;
value: number;
}
const getBidValue: IGetCompareValue<IBid> = (bid) => bid.value;
const bidsQueue = new MaxPriorityQueue<IBid>(getBidValue);
JS
const numbersQueue = new MinPriorityQueue();
const bidsQueue = new MaxPriorityQueue((bid) => bid.value);
Legacy Compare Function (v5 compatibility)
For backward compatibility with v5, you can also pass a compare function in an options object:
const minQueue = new MinPriorityQueue({ compare: (a, b) => a - b });
const maxQueue = new MaxPriorityQueue({ compare: (a, b) => a - b });
This format is supported for backward compatibility with v5 of the library.
fromArray
If the queue is being created from an existing array, and there is no desire to use an extra O(n) space, this static function can turn an array into a priority queue in O(n) runtime.
PriorityQueue
TS
const numbers = [3, -2, 5, 0, -1, -5, 4];
const pq = PriorityQueue.fromArray<number>(numbers, (a, b) => a - b);
console.log(numbers);
pq.dequeue();
pq.dequeue();
pq.dequeue();
console.log(numbers);
JS
const numbers = [3, -2, 5, 0, -1, -5, 4];
const pq = PriorityQueue.fromArray(numbers, (a, b) => a - b);
console.log(numbers);
pq.dequeue();
pq.dequeue();
pq.dequeue();
console.log(numbers);
MinPriorityQueue, MaxPriorityQueue
TS
const numbers = [3, -2, 5, 0, -1, -5, 4];
const mpq = MaxPriorityQueue.fromArray<number>(numbers);
console.log(numbers);
mpq.dequeue();
mpq.dequeue();
mpq.dequeue();
console.log(numbers);
JS
const numbers = [3, -2, 5, 0, -1, -5, 4];
const mpq = MaxPriorityQueue.fromArray(numbers);
console.log(numbers);
mpq.dequeue();
mpq.dequeue();
mpq.dequeue();
console.log(numbers);
enqueue (push)
adds a value based on its comparison with other values in the queue in O(log(n)) runtime.
const cars = [
{ year: 2013, price: 35000 },
{ year: 2010, price: 2000 },
{ year: 2013, price: 30000 },
{ year: 2017, price: 50000 },
{ year: 2013, price: 25000 },
{ year: 2015, price: 40000 },
{ year: 2022, price: 70000 }
];
cars.forEach((car) => carsQueue.enqueue(car));
const numbers = [3, -2, 5, 0, -1, -5, 4];
numbers.forEach((num) => numbersQueue.push(num));
const bids = [
{ id: 1, value: 1000 },
{ id: 2, value: 20000 },
{ id: 3, value: 1000 },
{ id: 4, value: 1500 },
{ id: 5, value: 12000 },
{ id: 6, value: 4000 },
{ id: 7, value: 8000 }
];
bids.forEach((bid) => bidsQueue.enqueue(bid));
front
peeks on the value with highest priority in the queue.
console.log(carsQueue.front());
console.log(numbersQueue.front());
console.log(bidsQueue.front());
back
peeks on the value with a lowest priority in the queue.
console.log(carsQueue.back());
console.log(numbersQueue.back());
console.log(bidsQueue.back());
dequeue (pop)
removes and returns the element with highest priority in the queue in O(log(n)) runtime.
console.log(carsQueue.dequeue());
console.log(carsQueue.dequeue());
console.log(carsQueue.dequeue());
console.log(numbersQueue.dequeue());
console.log(numbersQueue.dequeue());
console.log(numbersQueue.dequeue());
console.log(bidsQueue.pop());
console.log(bidsQueue.pop());
console.log(bidsQueue.pop());
contains
checks if the queue contains an element that meet a criteria in O(n*log(n)) runtime.
carsQueue.contains((car) => car.price === 50000);
carsQueue.contains((car) => car.price === 200000);
numbersQueue.contains((n) => n === 4);
numbersQueue.contains((n) => n === 10);
remove
removes all elements that meet a criteria in O(n*log(n)) runtime and returns a list of the removed elements.
carsQueue.remove((car) => car.price === 35000);
numbersQueue.remove((n) => n === 4);
bidsQueue.remove((bid) => bid.id === 3);
isEmpty
checks if the queue is empty.
console.log(carsQueue.isEmpty());
console.log(numbersQueue.isEmpty());
console.log(bidsQueue.isEmpty());
size
returns the number of elements in the queue.
console.log(carsQueue.size());
console.log(numbersQueue.size());
console.log(bidsQueue.size());
toArray
returns a sorted array of elements by their priorities from highest to lowest in O(n*log(n)) runtime.
console.log(carsQueue.toArray());
console.log(numbersQueue.toArray());
console.log(bidsQueue.toArray());
Symbol.iterator
The queues implement a Symbol.iterator that makes them iterable on pop
.
console.log([...carsQueue]);
console.log(carsQueue.size());
console.log([...numbersQueue]);
console.log(numbersQueue.size());
for (const bid of bidsQueue) {
console.log(bid);
}
console.log(bidsHeap.size());
clear
clears all elements in the queue.
carsQueue.clear();
console.log(carsQueue.size());
console.log(carsQueue.front());
console.log(carsQueue.dequeue());
console.log(carsQueue.isEmpty());
numbersQueue.clear();
console.log(numbersQueue.size());
console.log(numbersQueue.front());
console.log(numbersQueue.dequeue());
console.log(numbersQueue.isEmpty());
bidsQueue.clear();
console.log(bidsQueue.size());
console.log(bidsQueue.front());
console.log(bidsQueue.dequeue());
console.log(bidsQueue.isEmpty());
Build
grunt build
License
The MIT License. Full License is here