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Queue Is An Abstract Data Structure

Queue is a data structure that follows FIFO (First In First Out) ordering. Elements are inserted at the rear of the queue and removed from the front. Unlike stacks, a queue is open at both ends - the rear is used for insertion (enqueue) and the front for removal (dequeue). Common operations on queues include enqueue to insert an element, dequeue to remove an element, peek to access the front element without removing it, and functions to check if the queue is full or empty. Queues can be implemented using arrays, linked lists, or other data structures.

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38 views

Queue Is An Abstract Data Structure

Queue is a data structure that follows FIFO (First In First Out) ordering. Elements are inserted at the rear of the queue and removed from the front. Unlike stacks, a queue is open at both ends - the rear is used for insertion (enqueue) and the front for removal (dequeue). Common operations on queues include enqueue to insert an element, dequeue to remove an element, peek to access the front element without removing it, and functions to check if the queue is full or empty. Queues can be implemented using arrays, linked lists, or other data structures.

Uploaded by

suraj
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Queue is an abstract data structure, somewhat similar to Stacks.

Unlike
stacks, a queue is open at both its ends. One end is always used to insert
data (enqueue) and the other is used to remove data (dequeue). Queue
follows First-In-First-Out methodology, i.e., the data item stored first will be
accessed first.

A real-world example of queue can be a single-lane one-way road, where the


vehicle enters first, exits first. More real-world examples can be seen as
queues at the ticket windows and bus-stops.

Queue Representation
As we now understand that in queue, we access both ends for different
reasons. The following diagram given below tries to explain queue
representation as data structure

As in stacks, a queue can also be implemented using Arrays, Linked-lists,


Pointers and Structures. For the sake of simplicity, we shall implement
queues using one-dimensional array.

Basic Operations
Queue operations may involve initializing or defining the queue, utilizing it,
and then completely erasing it from the memory. Here we shall try to
understand the basic operations associated with queues

enqueue() add (store) an item to the queue.


dequeue() remove (access) an item from the queue.

Few more functions are required to make the above-mentioned queue


operation efficient. These are

peek() Gets the element at the front of the queue without removing it.

isfull() Checks if the queue is full.

isempty() Checks if the queue is empty.

In queue, we always dequeue (or access) data, pointed by front pointer and
while enqueing (or storing) data in the queue we take help of rear pointer.

Let's first learn about supportive functions of a queue

peek()
This function helps to see the data at the front of the queue. The algorithm
of peek() function is as follows

Algorithm

begin procedure peek

return queue[front]

end procedure

Implementation of peek() function in C programming language

Example

int peek() {
return queue[front];
}

isfull()
As we are using single dimension array to implement queue, we just check
for the rear pointer to reach at MAXSIZE to determine that the queue is full.
In case we maintain the queue in a circular linked-list, the algorithm will
differ. Algorithm of isfull() function
Algorithm

begin procedure isfull

if rear equals to MAXSIZE


return true
else
return false
endif

end procedure

Implementation of isfull() function in C programming language

Example

bool isfull() {
if(rear == MAXSIZE - 1)
return true;
else
return false;
}

isempty()
Algorithm of isempty() function

Algorithm

begin procedure isempty

if front is less than MIN OR front is greater than rear


return true
else
return false
endif
end procedure

If the value of front is less than MIN or 0, it tells that the queue is not yet
initialized, hence empty.

Here's the C programming code

Example

bool isempty() {
if(front < 0 || front > rear)
return true;
else
return false;
}

Enqueue Operation
Queues maintain two data pointers, front and rear. Therefore, its operations
are comparatively difficult to implement than that of stacks.

The following steps should be taken to enqueue (insert) data into a queue

Step 1 Check if the queue is full.

Step 2 If the queue is full, produce overflow error and exit.

Step 3 If the queue is not full, increment rear pointer to point the next empty
space.

Step 4 Add data element to the queue location, where the rear is pointing.

Step 5 return success.


Sometimes, we also check to see if a queue is initialized or not, to handle any
unforeseen situations.

Algorithm for enqueue operation

procedure enqueue(data)
if queue is full
return overflow
endif

rear rear + 1

queue[rear] data

return true

end procedure

Implementation of enqueue() in C programming language

Example

int enqueue(int data)


if(isfull())
return 0;

rear = rear + 1;
queue[rear] = data;

return 1;
end procedure

Dequeue Operation
Accessing data from the queue is a process of two tasks access the data
where front is pointing and remove the data after access. The following steps
are taken to perform dequeue operation

Step 1 Check if the queue is empty.

Step 2 If the queue is empty, produce underflow error and exit.

Step 3 If the queue is not empty, access the data where front is pointing.

Step 4 Increment front pointer to point to the next available data element.

Step 5 Return success.


Algorithm for dequeue operation

procedure dequeue
if queue is empty
return underflow
end if

data = queue[front]
front front + 1

return true
end procedure

Implementation of dequeue() in C programming language

Example

int dequeue() {

if(isempty())
return 0;
int data = queue[front];
front = front + 1;

return data;
}

For a complete Queue program in C programming language, please click

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