What are priority queues and how are they used in programming?

What are priority queues and how are they used in programming?

Priority queues are abstract data types where each element has a priority. Elements with higher priority are served before those with lower priority.

Can you give me an example of how to implement a priority queue in Python?

Sure! You can use the heapq module in Python to implement a priority queue. Here's a simple example:

import heapq

class PriorityQueue:
    def __init__(self):
        self.elements = []

    def is_empty(self):
        return not self.elements

    def put(self, item, priority):
        heapq.heappush(self.elements, (priority, item))

    def get(self):
        return heapq.heappop(self.elements)[1]

What are some real-world applications of priority queues?

Priority queues are used in various applications like scheduling tasks in operating systems, managing bandwidth in networks, and in algorithms like Dijkstra's for shortest paths.