What are the differences between max heaps and min heaps?

What are the differences between max heaps and min heaps?

Max heaps and min heaps are both binary trees, but in a max heap, the parent node is always greater than or equal to its children, while in a min heap, the parent node is always less than or equal to its children.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! In a max heap, if you have the numbers 10, 5, and 3, the structure would look like this:

    10
   /  \
  5    3

In a min heap, using the same numbers, it would look like this:

    3
   /  \
  5    10

What are the use cases for each type of heap?

Max heaps are often used in priority queues where the highest priority element is needed first, while min heaps are used for algorithms like Dijkstra's for finding the shortest path.

How do you implement a heap in programming?

Heaps can be implemented using arrays, where for any element at index i, its children are at indices 2i + 1 and 2i + 2 for a max heap, and similarly for a min heap.