Pile (data structure)
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A pile is an abstract data structure for storing data in a loosely ordered way. There are two different usages of the term
[edit] Ordered deque
The first version combines the properties of the deque and a priority queue and may be described as an ordered dequeue.
An item may be added to the head of the list if the new item is valued less than or equal to the current head or to the tail of the list if the new item is greater than or equal to the current tail. Elements may be removed from both the head and the tail.[1]
Piles of this kind are used in the "UnShuffle sort" sorting algorithm.
[edit] Improved heap
The second version is a subject of patents[2][3] and improves the heap data structure.
[edit] References
- ^ Art S. Kagel, "Pile", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed., National Institute of Standards and Technology, assessed September 27, 2007.
- ^ "Data structure and method for sorting using heap-supernodes", U.S. patent 728147 (2000, issued 2005)
- ^ "Data structure and method for pipeline heap-sorting", U.S. patent 09727534 (2000, issued 2006)

