How to resolve the algorithm Priority queue step by step in the Java programming language

Published on 12 May 2024 09:40 PM

How to resolve the algorithm Priority queue step by step in the Java programming language

Table of Contents

Problem Statement

A priority queue is somewhat similar to a queue, with an important distinction: each item is added to a priority queue with a priority level, and will be later removed from the queue with the highest priority element first. That is, the items are (conceptually) stored in the queue in priority order instead of in insertion order.

Create a priority queue.   The queue must support at least two operations:

Optionally, other operations may be defined, such as peeking (find what current top priority/top element is), merging (combining two priority queues into one), etc.

To test your implementation, insert a number of elements into the queue, each with some random priority. Then dequeue them sequentially; now the elements should be sorted by priority. You can use the following task/priority items as input data:

The implementation should try to be efficient.   A typical implementation has   O(log n)   insertion and extraction time,   where   n   is the number of items in the queue.
You may choose to impose certain limits such as small range of allowed priority levels, limited capacity, etc.   If so, discuss the reasons behind it.

Let's start with the solution:

Step by Step solution about How to resolve the algorithm Priority queue step by step in the Java programming language

The provided Java source code defines a task scheduling program using a priority queue to handle tasks based on their priority levels. Here's a detailed explanation of the code:

1. Task Class:

  • The Task class represents a single task with two properties:
    • priority: Denotes the priority level of the task (higher numbers indicate higher priority).
    • name: A string describing the task.

2. PriorityQueue:

  • PriorityQueue<Task> pq = new PriorityQueue<Task>();: Creates a priority queue for managing tasks.
    • A priority queue is a queue structure where elements are ordered based on their priorities.
    • In Java, the PriorityQueue class implements the natural ordering of its elements (i.e., the Task objects) using their compareTo method.

3. Adding Tasks to the Queue:

  • pq.add(new Task(3, "Clear drains"));: Adds a task with priority 3 and name "Clear drains" to the priority queue.
  • Multiple tasks are added in a similar manner with different priorities and names.

4. Removing Tasks from the Queue:

  • while (!pq.isEmpty()): Loops until the priority queue is empty.
  • System.out.println(pq.remove());: Removes and prints the highest-priority task from the queue. In a priority queue, the highest-priority elements are always at the front of the queue and can be accessed using the remove method.

5. Overriding compareTo Method:

  • The compareTo method is defined in the Task class to implement the comparison logic for the priority queue.
  • It compares the priorities of two Task objects:
    • If the current task's priority is less than the other task's priority, it returns -1.
    • If the current task's priority is greater than the other task's priority, it returns 1.
    • If the priorities are equal, it returns 0.

Execution:

  • When you run the program, it adds five tasks to the priority queue with varying priorities.
  • Then, it repeatedly removes and prints the tasks from the queue until the queue is empty.
  • The output will be a prioritized list of tasks printed in ascending order of their priorities.

In summary, this Java program demonstrates how to use a priority queue to implement a task scheduler based on priority levels. The priority queue ensures that tasks with higher priorities are processed first, making it useful for managing time-sensitive or critical tasks in various real-world applications.

Source code in the java programming language

import java.util.PriorityQueue;

class Task implements Comparable<Task> {
    final int priority;
    final String name;

    public Task(int p, String n) {
        priority = p;
        name = n;
    }

    public String toString() {
        return priority + ", " + name;
    }

    public int compareTo(Task other) {
        return priority < other.priority ? -1 : priority > other.priority ? 1 : 0;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        PriorityQueue<Task> pq = new PriorityQueue<Task>();
        pq.add(new Task(3, "Clear drains"));
        pq.add(new Task(4, "Feed cat"));
        pq.add(new Task(5, "Make tea"));
        pq.add(new Task(1, "Solve RC tasks"));
        pq.add(new Task(2, "Tax return"));

        while (!pq.isEmpty())
            System.out.println(pq.remove());
    }
}


  

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