Queue
Queue is a linear data structure that follows a particular order in which the operations are performed. The order is First In First Out(FIFO) i.e. the data item stored first will be accessed first. In this, entering and retrieving data is not done from only one end. An example of a queue is any queue of consumers for a resource where the consumer that came first is served first. Different operations are performed on a Queue like Reversing a Queue (with or without using recursion), Reversing the first K elements of a Queue, etc. A few basic operations performed In Queue are enqueue, dequeue, front, rear, etc.
Queue
Characteristics of a Queue:
The queue has various different characteristics which are as follows:
- The queue is a FIFO (First In First Out) structure.
- To remove the last element of the Queue, all the elements inserted before the new element in the queue must be removed.
- A queue is an ordered list of elements of similar data types.
Applications of Queue:
Different applications of Queue are as follows:
- Queue is used for handling website traffic.
- It helps to maintain the playlist in media players.
- Queue is used in operating systems for handling interrupts.
- It helps in serving requests on a single shared resource, like a printer, CPU task scheduling, etc.
- It is used in the asynchronous transfer of data e.g. pipes, file IO, and sockets.
- Queues are used for job scheduling in the operating system.
- In social media to upload multiple photos or videos queue is used.
- To send an e-mail queue data structure is used.
- To handle website traffic at a time queues are used.
- In Windows operating system, to switch multiple applications.
Operation performed on queue:
A queue is a linear data structure that implements the First-In-First-Out (FIFO) principle. Here are some common operations performed on queues:
- Enqueue: Elements can be added to the back of the queue, adding a new element to the end of the queue.
- Dequeue: The front element can be removed from the queue by performing a dequeue operation, effectively removing the first element that was added to the queue.
- Peek: The front element can be inspected without removing it from the queue using a peek operation.
- IsEmpty: A check can be made to determine if the queue is empty.
- Size: The number of elements in the queue can be determined using a size operation.
These are some of the most common operations performed on queues. The specific operations and algorithms used may vary based on the requirements of the problem and the programming language used. Queues are commonly used in applications such as scheduling tasks, managing communication between processes, and many others.
Real-Life Applications of Queue:
- A real-world example of a queue is a single-lane one-way road, where the vehicle that enters first will exit first.
- A more real-world example can be seen in the queue at the ticket windows.
- A cashier line in a store is also an example of a queue.
- People on an escalator
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