Abstract

We give a generalization of binomial queues involving an arbitrary sequence (mk )k=0;1;2;::: of integers greater than one. Different sequences lead to different worst case bounds for the priority queue operations, allowing the user to adapt the data structure to the needs of a specific application. Examples include the first priority queue to combine a sub-logarithmic worst case bound for Meld with a sub-linear worst case bound for Delete min. Keywords: Data structures; Meldable priority queues. 1 Introduction The binomial queue, introduced in 1978 by Vuillemin [14], is a data structure for meldable priority queues. In meldable priority queues, the basic operations are insertion of a new item into a queue, deletion of the item having minimum key in a queue, and melding of two queues into a single queue. The binomial queue is one of many data structures which support these operations at a worst case cost of O(logn) for a queue of n items. Theoretical [2] and empirical [9] evidence i...

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