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Black box for constant-time insertion in priority queues (note)

Published:01 July 2005Publication History
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Abstract

We present a simple black box that takes a priority queue Q which supports find-min, insert, and delete in x-time at most t. Here x-time may be worst-case, expected, or amortized. The black-box transforms Q into a priority queue Q* that supports find-min in constant time, insert in constant x-time, and delete in x-time O(t). Moreover, if Q supports dec-key in constant time, then so does Q*.

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  1. Black box for constant-time insertion in priority queues (note)

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                  Robert Stewart Roos

                  Although the methods described here have been used in several recent papers on fast priority queue implementation, this short note brings these results together, along with a description of the authors' black box transformation and proofs of the complexities of the transformed queue. The black box replaces the elements of a given priority queue with pointers to linked lists of elements, where the length of each list is limited by a value t representing either the amortized, expected, or worst-case upper bound on find-min, insert, and delete (depending on the desired time complexity measure). Using simple list operations in conjunction with those of the given priority queue, the find-min operation can be implemented in constant time, the insertion operation can be implemented in constant (amortized/expected/worst-case) time, and delete can be implemented in (amortized/expected/worst-case) time O(t). Although some of these results have been achieved in the past, they required assumptions about the relative frequencies of certain operations. No such assumptions are required for the authors' construction. Online Computing Reviews Service

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                    cover image ACM Transactions on Algorithms
                    ACM Transactions on Algorithms  Volume 1, Issue 1
                    July 2005
                    176 pages
                    ISSN:1549-6325
                    EISSN:1549-6333
                    DOI:10.1145/1077464
                    Issue’s Table of Contents

                    Copyright © 2005 ACM

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                    Publication History

                    • Published: 1 July 2005
                    Published in talg Volume 1, Issue 1

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