what is priority queue

A priority queue is an abstract data type similar to a regular queue or stack data structure, where each element has an associated priority. In a priority queue, elements with high priority are served before elements with lower priority. Priority queues are often used in real-time systems and algorithms to improve efficiency, such as Dijkstra’s algorithm for finding the shortest path in a graph and the A* search algorithm for pathfinding. They can be implemented using various data structures such as arrays, linked lists, heap data structures, or binary search trees. Basic operations of a priority queue include inserting, removing, and peeking elements. Priority queues are used in a variety of applications, including managing limited resources such as bandwidth on a transmission line from a network router, implementing stack, and for load balancing and interrupt handling.