Data Structure and Algorithms -

Queue

Bhabani Shankar Pradhan

Queue, like Stack, is also an abstract data structure. The thing that makes
queue different from stack is that a queue is open at both its ends. Hence, it
follows FIFO (First-In-First-Out) structure, i.e. the data item inserted first will
also be accessed first. The data is inserted into the queue through one end
and deleted from it using the other end.

A real-world example of queue can be a single-lane one-way road, where the

vehicle enters first, exits first. More real-world examples can be seen as
queues at the ticket windows and bus-stops.

Representation of Queues

Similar to the stack ADT, a queue ADT can also be implemented using arrays,
linked lists, or pointers. As a small example in this tutorial, we implement
queues using a one-dimensional array.

Basic Operations

Queue operations also include initialization of a queue, usage and

permanently deleting the data from the memory.
The most fundamental operations in the queue ADT include: enqueue(),
dequeue(), peek(), isFull(), isEmpty(). These are all built-in operations to carry
out data manipulation and to check the status of the queue.

Queue uses two pointers − front and rear. The front pointer accesses the data
from the front end (helping in enqueueing) while the rear pointer accesses
data from the rear end (helping in dequeuing).

Insertion operation: enqueue()

The enqueue() is a data manipulation operation that is used to insert elements

into the stack. The following algorithm describes the enqueue() operation in a
simpler way.

Algorithm

1 − START

2 – Check if the queue is full.

3 − If the queue is full, produce overflow error and exit.

4 − If the queue is not full, increment rear pointer to point the next empty
space.

5 − Add data element to the queue location, where the rear is pointing.

6 − return success.

7 – END

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

C
#include <stdio.h>

#include <string.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <stdbool.h>

#define MAX 6

int intArray[MAX];

int front = 0;

int rear = -1;

int itemCount = 0;

bool isFull(){

return itemCount == MAX;

bool isEmpty(){

return itemCount == 0;

int removeData(){

int data = intArray[front++];

if(front == MAX) {

front = 0;
 }

itemCount--;

return data;

void insert(int data){

if(!isFull()) {

if(rear == MAX-1) {

rear = -1;

intArray[++rear] = data;

itemCount++;

int main(){

insert(3);

insert(5);

insert(9);

insert(1);

insert(12);
 insert(15);

printf("Queue: ");

while(!isEmpty()) {

int n = removeData();

printf("%d ",n);

Output

Queue: 3 5 9 1 12 15

Deletion Operation: dequeue()

The dequeue() is a data manipulation operation that is used to remove

elements from the stack. The following algorithm describes the dequeue()
operation in a simpler way.

Algorithm

1 – START

2 − Check if the queue is empty.

3 − If the queue is empty, produce underflow error and exit.

4 − If the queue is not empty, access the data where front is pointing.

5 − Increment front pointer to point to the next available data element.

6 − Return success.
7 – END

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

CC++JavaPython

#include <stdio.h>

#include <string.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <stdbool.h>

#define MAX 6

int intArray[MAX];

int front = 0;

int rear = -1;

int itemCount = 0;

bool isFull(){

return itemCount == MAX;

bool isEmpty(){

return itemCount == 0;

}
void insert(int data){

if(!isFull()) {

if(rear == MAX-1) {

rear = -1;

intArray[++rear] = data;

itemCount++;

int removeData(){

int data = intArray[front++];

if(front == MAX) {

front = 0;

itemCount--;

return data;

int main(){

int i;
/* insert 5 items */

insert(3);

insert(5);

insert(9);

insert(1);

insert(12);

insert(15);

printf("Queue: ");

for(i = 0; i < MAX; i++)

printf("%d ", intArray[i]);

// remove one item

int num = removeData();

printf("\nElement removed: %d\n",num);

printf("Updated Queue: ");

while(!isEmpty()) {

int n = removeData();

printf("%d ",n);
 }

Output

Queue: 3 5 9 1 12 15

Element removed: 3

Updated Queue: 5 9 1 12 15

The peek() Operation

The peek() is an operation which is used to retrieve the frontmost element in

the queue, without deleting it. This operation is used to check the status of the
queue with the help of the pointer.

Algorithm

1 – START

2 – Return the element at the front of the queue

3 – END

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

#include <stdio.h>

#include <string.h>

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdbool.h>

#define MAX 6

int intArray[MAX];

int front = 0;

int rear = -1;

int itemCount = 0;

int peek(){

return intArray[front];

bool isFull(){

return itemCount == MAX;

void insert(int data){

if(!isFull()) {

if(rear == MAX-1) {

rear = -1;

intArray[++rear] = data;

itemCount++;
 }

int main(){

int i;

/* insert 5 items */

insert(3);

insert(5);

insert(9);

insert(1);

insert(12);

insert(15);

printf("Queue: ");

for(i = 0; i < MAX; i++)

printf("%d ", intArray[i]);

printf("\nElement at front: %d\n",peek());

Output

Queue: 3 5 9 1 12 15
Element at front: 3

The isFull() Operation

The isFull() operation verifies whether the stack is full.

Algorithm

1 – START

2 – If the count of queue elements equals the queue size, return true

3 – Otherwise, return false

4 – END

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

#include <stdio.h>

#include <string.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <stdbool.h>

#define MAX 6

int intArray[MAX];

int front = 0;

int rear = -1;

int itemCount = 0;

bool isFull(){

return itemCount == MAX;

void insert(int data){

if(!isFull()) {

if(rear == MAX-1) {

rear = -1;

intArray[++rear] = data;

itemCount++;

int main(){

int i;

/* insert 5 items */

insert(3);

insert(5);

insert(9);
 insert(1);

insert(12);

insert(15);

printf("Queue: ");

for(i = 0; i < MAX; i++)

printf("%d ", intArray[i]);

printf("\n");

if(isFull()) {

printf("Queue is full!\n");

Output

Queue: 3 5 9 1 12 15

Queue is full!

The isEmpty() operation

The isEmpty() operation verifies whether the stack is empty. This operation is
used to check the status of the stack with the help of top pointer.

Algorithm

1 – START

2 – If the count of queue elements equals zero, return true

3 – Otherwise, return false

4 – END

Example

Following are the implementations of this operation in various programming

languages −

#include <stdio.h>

#include <string.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <stdbool.h>

#define MAX 6

int intArray[MAX];

int front = 0;

int rear = -1;

int itemCount = 0;

bool isEmpty(){

return itemCount == 0;

int main(){

int i;
 printf("Queue: ");

for(i = 0; i < MAX; i++)

printf("%d ", intArray[i]);

printf("\n");

if(isEmpty()) {

printf("Queue is Empty!\n");

Output

Queue: 0 0 0 0 0 0

Queue is Empty!

Implementation of Queue

In this chapter, the algorithm implementation of the Queue data structure is

performed in four programming languages.

#include <stdio.h>

#include <string.h>

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <stdbool.h>

#define MAX 6
int intArray[MAX];

int front = 0;

int rear = -1;

int itemCount = 0;

int peek(){

return intArray[front];

bool isEmpty(){

return itemCount == 0;

bool isFull(){

return itemCount == MAX;

int size(){

return itemCount;

void insert(int data){

if(!isFull()) {

if(rear == MAX-1) {
 rear = -1;

intArray[++rear] = data;

itemCount++;

int removeData(){

int data = intArray[front++];

if(front == MAX) {

front = 0;

itemCount--;

return data;

int main(){

/* insert 5 items */

insert(3);

insert(5);
insert(9);

insert(1);

insert(12);

// front : 0

// rear : 4

// ------------------

// index : 0 1 2 3 4

// ------------------

// queue : 3 5 9 1 12

insert(15);

// front : 0

// rear : 5

// ---------------------

// index : 0 1 2 3 4 5

// ---------------------

// queue : 3 5 9 1 12 15

if(isFull()) {
 printf("Queue is full!\n");

// remove one item

int num = removeData();

printf("Element removed: %d\n",num);

// front : 1

// rear : 5

// -------------------

// index : 1 2 3 4 5

// -------------------

// queue : 5 9 1 12 15

// insert more items

insert(16);

// front : 1

// rear : -1

// ----------------------
// index : 0 1 2 3 4 5

// ----------------------

// queue : 16 5 9 1 12 15

// As queue is full, elements will not be inserted.

insert(17);

insert(18);

// ----------------------

// index : 0 1 2 3 4 5

// ----------------------

// queue : 16 5 9 1 12 15

printf("Element at front: %d\n",peek());

printf("----------------------\n");

printf("index : 5 4 3 2 1 0\n");

printf("----------------------\n");

printf("Queue: ");

while(!isEmpty()) {

int n = removeData();

printf("%d ",n);
 }

Output

Queue is full!

Element removed: 3

Element at front: 5

----------------------

index : 5 4 3 2 1 0

----------------------

Queue: 5 9 1 12 15 16