How can I implement a heap in Python?

How can I implement a heap in Python?

You can implement a heap in Python using the heapq module, which provides an efficient way to maintain a heap data structure.

Can you show me a simple example of a min-heap?

Sure! Here's a basic example:

import heapq

# Create an empty min-heap
min_heap = []

# Add elements to the heap
heapq.heappush(min_heap, 5)
heapq.heappush(min_heap, 3)
heapq.heappush(min_heap, 8)

# Get the smallest element
smallest = heapq.heappop(min_heap)
print(smallest)  # Output: 3

What if I want to implement a max-heap instead?

To implement a max-heap, you can invert the values by multiplying them by -1. Here's how:

import heapq

max_heap = []

# Add elements to the max-heap
heapq.heappush(max_heap, -5)
heapq.heappush(max_heap, -3)
heapq.heappush(max_heap, -8)

# Get the largest element
largest = -heapq.heappop(max_heap)
print(largest)  # Output: 8