Heap / Priority Queue

⏱ Time: O(N log K)💾 Space: O(K)

A specialized tree-based data structure that satisfies the heap property. In a min-heap, the root is the minimum element, enabling O(1) retrieval and O(log N) insertion/deletion.

🎯 When to Use

  • ✓Top K elements
  • ✓Merge K sorted streams
  • ✓Task scheduling with priorities

📝 Pseudocode

Heap / Priority Queue TemplateO(N log K)
1function solve(nums, k):
2  minHeap = new MinHeap()
3  for num in nums:
4    minHeap.push(num)
5    if minHeap.size() > k:
6      minHeap.pop()
7  return minHeap.peek()

🏢 Real-World Use Cases

Uber
Nearest Driver Dispatch

Maintaining a priority queue of closest available drivers to dispatch the nearest driver efficiently.

💡 Practice Problems (1)

1.Kth Largest Element in an ArrayMedium
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