Heap Data Structure-

In data structures,
• Heap is a specialized data structure.
• It has special characteristics.
• A heap may be implemented using a n-ary tree.

Binary Heap-
A binary heap is a Binary Tree with the following two properties-

Ordering Property
• Structural Property

1. Ordering Property-
By this property,
• Elements in the heap tree are arranged in specific order.
• This gives rise to two types of heaps- min heap and max heap.
2. Structural Property-
By this property,
• Binary heap is an almost complete binary tree.
• It has all its levels completely filled except possibly the last level.
• The last level is strictly filled from left to right.

Types of Binary Heap-

Depending on the arrangement of elements, a binary heap may be of following two
types-
 1. Max Heap
2. Min Heap

1. Max Heap-
Max Heap conforms to the above properties of heap.
• In max heap, every node contains greater or equal value element than its child
nodes.
• Thus, root node contains the largest value element.

Example-

Consider the following example of max heap-

This is max heap because-

• Every node contains greater or equal value element than its child nodes.
• It is an almost complete binary tree with its last level strictly filled from left to right.

2. Min Heap-

• Min Heap conforms to the above properties of heap.

 • In min heap, every node contains lesser value element than its child nodes.
• Thus, root node contains the smallest value element.

Example-
Consider the following example of min heap-

This is min heap because-

• Every node contains lesser value element than its child nodes.
• It is an almost complete binary tree with its last level strictly filled from left to right.

Array Representation of Binary Heap-

A binary heap is typically represented as an array.
For a node present at index ‘i’ of the array Arr-
If indexing starts with 0,
• Its parent node will be present at array location = Arr [ i/2 ]
• Its left child node will be present at array location = Arr [ 2i+1 ]
• Its right child node will be present at array location = Arr [ 2i+2 ]

If indexing starts with 1,

• Its parent node will be present at array location = Arr [ ⌊i/2⌋ ]
• Its left child node will be present at array location = Arr [ 2i ]
• Its right child node will be present at array location = Arr [ 2i+1 ]

Important Notes-
Note-01:

• Level order traversal technique may be used to achieve the array representation
of a heap tree.
• Array representation of a heap never contains any empty indices in between.
• However, array representation of a binary tree may contain some empty indices
in between.
Note-02:

Given an array representation of a binary heap,

• If all the elements are in descending order, then heap is definitely a max heap.
• If all the elements are not in descending order, then it may or may not be a max
heap.
• If all the elements are in ascending order, then heap is definitely a min heap.
• If all the elements are not in ascending order, then it may or may not be a min
heap.
Note-03:
• In max heap, every node contains greater or equal value element than all its
descendants.
• In min heap, every node contains smaller value element that all its descendants.

PRACTICE PROBLEMS BASED ON HEAP DATA

STRUCTURE-
Problems-
Consider a binary max-heap implemented using an array. Which one of the following
array represents a binary max-heap? (GATE CS 2009)

Solutions-
Part-01: 25, 14, 16, 13, 10, 8, 12-
The given array representation may be converted into the following structure-

Clearly,
• It is a complete binary tree.
• Every node contains a greater value element than its child nodes.

Thus, the given array represents a max heap.

Part-02: 25, 12, 16, 13, 10, 8, 14-
The given array representation may be converted into the following structure-

Clearly,
• It is a complete binary tree.
• Every node does not contain a greater value element than its child nodes. (Node
12)
• So, it is not a max heap.
• Every node does not contain a smaller value element than its child nodes.
 • So, it is not a min heap.
Thus, the given array does not represents a heap.
Part-03: 25, 14, 12, 13, 10, 8, 16-
The given array representation may be converted into the following structure-

Clearly,
• It is a complete binary tree.
• Every node does not contain a greater value element than its child nodes. (Node
12)
• So, it is not a max heap.
• Every node does not contain a smaller value element than its child nodes.
• So, it is not a min heap.
Thus, the given array does not represents a heap.
Part-04: 25, 14, 13, 16, 10, 8, 12-
The given array representation may be converted into the following structure-

Clearly,
• It is a complete binary tree.
• Every node does not contain a greater value element than its child nodes. (Node
14)
• So, it is not a max heap.
• Every node does not contain a smaller value element than its child nodes.
• So, it is not a min heap.
 • Thus, the given array does not represents a heap.

Heap Operations-

The most basic and commonly performed operations on a heap are-

1. Search Operation
2. Insertion Operation
3. Deletion Operation

Here, we will discuss how these operations are performed on a max heap.

Max Heap-

• In max heap, every node contains greater or equal value element than its child
nodes.
• Thus, root node contains the largest value element.
Example-
The following heap is an example of a max heap-
Max Heap Operations-

We will discuss the construction of a max heap and how following operations are
performed on a max heap-
• Finding Maximum Operation
• Insertion Operation
• Deletion Operation

Max Heap Construction-

Given an array of elements, the steps involved in constructing a max heap are-
Step-01:
Convert the given array of elements into an almost complete binary tree.
Step-02:

Ensure that the tree is a max heap.

• Check that every non-leaf node contains a greater or equal value element than its
child nodes.
• If there exists any node that does not satisfies the ordering property of max heap,
swap the elements.
• Start checking from a non-leaf node with the highest index (bottom to top and
right to left).
Finding Maximum Operation-

• In max heap, the root node always contains the maximum value element.
• So, we directly display the root node value as maximum value in max heap.

Insertion Operation-

Insertion Operation is performed to insert an element in the heap tree.

The steps involved in inserting an element are-

Step-01:

Insert the new element as a next leaf node from left to right.

Step-02:

Ensure that the tree remains a max heap.

• Check that every non-leaf node contains a greater or equal value element than its
child nodes.
• If there exists any node that does not satisfies the ordering property of max heap,
swap the elements.
• Start checking from a non-leaf node with the highest index (bottom to top and
right to left).

Deletion Operation-

Deletion Operation is performed to delete a particular element from the heap tree.

When it comes to deleting a node from the heap tree, following two cases are possible-
Case-01: Deletion Of Last Node-

• This case is pretty simple.

• Just remove / disconnect the last leaf node from the heap tree.

Case-02: Deletion Of Some Other Node-

• This case is little bit difficult.

• Deleting a node other than the last node disturbs the heap properties.

The steps involved in deleting such a node are-

Step-01:

• Delete the desired element from the heap tree.

• Pluck the last node and put in place of the deleted node.

Step-02:

Ensure that the tree remains a max heap.

• Check that every non-leaf node contains a greater or equal value element than its
child nodes.
• If there exists any node that does not satisfies the ordering property of max heap,
swap the elements.
• Start checking from a non-leaf node with the highest index (bottom to top and
right to left).

PRACTICE PROBLEMS BASED ON MAX HEAP

OPERATIONS-

Problem-01:

Construct a max heap for the given array of elements-

1, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16
Solution-

Step-01:

We convert the given array of elements into an almost complete binary tree-

Step-02:

• We ensure that the tree is a max heap.

• Node 6 contains greater element in its right child node.
• So, we swap node 6 and node 16.

The resulting tree is-

Step-03:
 • Node 5 contains greater element in its right child node.
• So, we swap node 5 and node 12.

The resulting tree is-

Step-04:

• Node 1 contains greater element in its right child node.

• So, we swap node 1 and node 16.

The resulting tree is-

Step-05:

• Node 1 contains greater element in its left child node.

• So, we swap node 1 and node 14.
The resulting tree is-

This is the required max heap for the given array of elements.

Problem-02:

Consider the following max heap-

50, 30, 20, 15, 10, 8, 16
Insert a new node with value 60.

Solution-

Step-01:

We convert the given array of elements into a heap tree-

Step-02:

We insert the new element 60 as a next leaf node from left to right.
The resulting tree is-

Step-03:

• We ensure that the tree is a max heap.

• Node 15 contains greater element in its left child node.
• So, we swap node 15 and node 60.

The resulting tree is-

Step-04:

• Node 30 contains greater element in its left child node.

• So, we swap node 30 and node 60.

The resulting tree is-

Step-05:

• Node 50 contains greater element in its left child node.

• So, we swap node 50 and node 60.
The resulting tree is-

This is the required max heap after inserting the node with value 60.

Problem-03:

Consider the following max heap-

50, 30, 20, 15, 10, 8, 16
Delete a node with value 50.

Solution-

Step-01:

We convert the given array of elements into a heap tree-

Step-02:

• We delete the element 50 which is present at root node.

• We pluck the last node 16 and put in place of the deleted node.

The resulting tree is-

Step-03:

• We ensure that the tree is a max heap.

• Node 16 contains greater element in its left child node.
• So, we swap node 16 and node 30.

The resulting tree is-

This is the required max heap after deleting the node with value 50.