What is the best priority queue library for Python?

What is the best priority queue library for Python?

One of the most popular libraries for priority queues in Python is heapq, which is part of the standard library. It provides an efficient implementation of a priority queue using a binary heap.

Are there any third-party libraries that are better?

Yes, libraries like queue and sortedcontainers offer additional features. queue.PriorityQueue is thread-safe, while sortedcontainers maintains order and allows for fast access.

Can you give me an example of how to use heapq?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

import heapq

# Create a priority queue
pq = []

# Add items with their priority
heapq.heappush(pq, (1, 'task1'))
heapq.heappush(pq, (3, 'task3'))
heapq.heappush(pq, (2, 'task2'))

# Pop items in order of priority
while pq:
    print(heapq.heappop(pq))

This will output tasks in order of their priority.

What are the performance characteristics of these libraries?

heapq has O(log n) time complexity for insertions and deletions, while queue.PriorityQueue has similar performance but adds overhead for thread safety. sortedcontainers offers O(log n) for insertions and O(1) for access.