SIT221 Data Structures and Algorithms Trimester 2, 2019
Practical Task 6.1
(Pass Task)
Submission deadline: 10:00am Monday, September 2
Discussion deadline: 10:00am Saturday, September 14
General Instructions
The objective of this task is to study implementation of a Binary Heap, a data structure which is seen as a
special case of a complete binary tree. Like a binary tree, a heap consists of a collection of nodes that can be
considered as building blocks of the data structure. The tree structure that a binary heap represents is
complete; that is, every level, except possibly the last one, is completely filled, and all nodes are as far left as
possible. This makes a binary heap with ݊ nodes be always of a ܱሺlog ݊ሻ height. In addition to the standard
binary tree properties, a binary heap must also adhere to the mandatory Heap Ordering property. The
ordering can be one of the two types:
The Min‐Heap Property: the value of each node is greater than or equal to the value of its parent,
with the minimum‐value element at the root.
The Max‐Heap Property: the value of each node is less than or equal to the value of its parent, with
the maximum‐value element at the root.
Note that a binary heap is not a sorted structure and can be regarded as partially ordered. Indeed, there is
no particular relationship among nodes on any given level, even among siblings. From a practical perspective,
a binary heap is a very useful data structure when one needs to remove the object with the lowest (or highest,
in case of the max‐heap ordering) priority.
A binary heap can be uniquely represented by storing its level order traversal in an array or an array‐based
collection like a list (also known as a vector). Note that the links between nodes are not required. For the
convenience of implementation, the first entry of the array with index 0 is skipped; it contains a dummy
(default) element. Therefore, the root of a heap is the second item in the array at index 1, and the length of
the array is ݊1 for a heap with ݊ data elements. This implies that for the ݇௧ element of the array the
following statements are valid:
the left child is located at index 2∙݇;
the right child is located at index 2∙݇1;
the parent is located uniquely at index ہ݇/2ۂ.
Insertion of a new element initially appends it to the end of a heap as the last element of the array at index
݊1. The Heap Ordering property is then repaired by comparing the added element with its parent and
moving the added element up a level (swapping positions with the parent). This process is commonly known
as “UpHeap”, or “Heapify‐Up”, or “Sift‐Up”. The comparison is repeated until the parent is larger (or smaller,
in case of the max‐heap ordering) than or equal to the percolating element. The worst‐case runtime of the
algorithm is ܱሺlog ݊ሻ, since we need at most one swap on each level of a heap on the path from the inserted
node to the root.
The minimum (or maximum, in case of the max‐heap ordering) element can be found at the root, which is
the element of the array located at index 1. Deletion of the minimum element first replaces it with the last
element of the array at index ݊, and then restores the Heap Ordering property by following the process
known as “DownHeap”, or “Heapify‐Down”, or “Sift‐Down”. Similar to insertion, the worst‐case runtime is
ܱሺlog ݊ሻ.
1. Explore the source code attached to this task. Create a new Microsoft Visual Studio project and import
the enclosed Heap.cs, IHeapifyable.cs, and Tester.cs files. Your newly built project should compile and
work without errors. The objective of the task is to develop the missing functionality of the Heap
class. The Heap.cs contains a template of the Heap. The Tester.cs contains a prepared Main method
SIT221 Data Structures and Algorithms Trimester 2, 2019
that should help you to build a fully‐functional data structure. It enables a number of tests important for
debugging and testing of the Heap class and its interfaces for runtime and logical errors.
2. Find the nested Node class presented inside the Heap and explore its structure. This is a generic
class that represents a node of a binary heap. Think about it as an atomic data structure itself that serves
the Heap as a building block. It is a data structure consisting of
a generic type raw data (a payload),
a generic type key necessary to place the node with regard to the order of nodes existing in the
Heap, and
an integer‐valued position (index) that locates the node in the array‐based collection of nodes of the
Heap.
Because both K and D types are generic, the key and the data may be of an arbitrary type: a string, an
integer, or a user‐defined class. Finally, note that the Node class is ready for you to use. It provides the
following functionality:
Node(K key, D value, int position)
Initializes a new instance of the Node class associated with the specified generic key. The node records the given
generic data as well as its own index‐based position within the array‐based collection of data nodes privately
owned by the related Heap.
D Data
Property. Gets or sets the data of generic type D associated with the Node.
K Key
Property. Gets or sets the key of generic type K assigned to the Node.
Position
Property. Gets or sets the index‐based position of the Node in the array‐based collection of nodes constituting
the Heap .
string ToString()
Returns a string that represents the current Node.
The Node class implements the IHeapifyable interface, which is defined in the attached
IHeapifyable.cs. Note that this interface is parametrized by the same two generic data types as the
Heap. The reason for the use of the interface is that the Node class is a data structure internal to
the Heap, therefore an instance of the Node must not be exposed to a user. It must remain hidden
for the user in order to protect the integrity of the whole data structure. Otherwise, manipulating the
nodes directly, the user may easily corrupt the structure of a binary heap and violate the important Heap‐
Ordering rule. Nevertheless, because the user needs access to the data that the user owns and stores
inside a binary heap, the Node implements the interface that permits reading and modifying the data.
Therefore, the primal purpose of the IHeapifyable is to record and retrieve the data associated with
a particular node and track the position of the node in the array‐based collection of nodes of the
Heap.
Check the IHeapifyable interface to see that the only property it allows to change is the Data. The
other two properties, the Key and the Position, are read‐only. Note that the value of a key is set at the
time the node is added to a heap. It then can be changed only via dedicated operations, like DecreaseKey.
The Heap is entirely responsible for Position, thus modification of this property by the user is
impossible.
3. Proceed with the given template of the Heap class and explore the methods that it has implemented
for you for the purpose of example, in particular:
Heap(IComparer comparer)
Initializes a new instance of the Heap class and stores the specified reference to the object that enables
comparison of two keys of type K.
SIT221 Data Structures and Algorithms Trimester 2, 2019
Count
Property. Gets the number of elements stored by the Heap.
IHeapifyable Min()
Returns the element with the minimum (or maximum) key positioned at the top of the Heap, without
removing it. The element is casted to the IHeapifyable. The method throws InvalidOperationException if
the Heap is empty.
IHeapifyable Insert(K key, D value)
Inserts a new node containing the specified key‐value pair into the Heap. The position of the new element
in the binary heap is determined according the Heap‐Order policy. It returns the newly created node casted to
the IHeapifyable.
void Clear()
Removes all nodes from the Heap and sets the Count to zero.
string ToString()
Returns a string representation of the Heap.
Rather than an array, the Heap utilizes the native .NET Framework List generic collection as the
internal data structure. This collection is dynamic as opposed to an array, which is static. This fact should
simplify your work. Furthermore, note that the internal structure of the Heap can be explored only
implicitly through the positions of the nodes constituting it.
As you may have noticed, the comparison of nodes is performed by the comparator originally set within
the constructor of the Heap. Providing different comparator to the constructor will change the
behaviour of the Heap. When keys are ordered in ascending order, the Heap acts as a min‐
heap. When the comparator orders keys in descending order, the Heap behaves as a max‐heap.
4. You must complete the Heap class and provide the following functionality to the user:
IHeapifyable Delete()
Deletes and returns the node casted to the IHeapifyable positioned at the top of the Heap. This
method throws InvalidOperationException if the Heap is empty.
IHeapifyable[] BuildHeap(K[] keys, D[] data)
Builds a binary heap following the bottom‐up approach. Each new element of the heap is derived by the key‐
value pair (keys[i],data[i]) specified by the method’s parameters. It returns an array of nodes casted to the
IHeapifyable. Each node at index ݅ must match its key‐value pair at index ݅ of the two input arrays. This
method throws InvalidOperationException if the Heap is not empty.
DecreaseKey(IHeapifyable element, K new_key)
Decreases the key of the specified element presented in the Heap. The method throws
InvalidOperationException when the node stored in the Heap at the position specified by the element is
different to the element. This signals that the given element is inconsistent to the current state of the Heap.
Note that you are free in writing your code that is private to the Heap unless you respect all the
requirements in terms of functionality and signatures of the specified methods.
5. As you progress with the implementation of the Heap class, you should start using the Tester class
to thoroughly test the Heap aiming on the coverage of all potential logical issues and runtime errors.
This (testing) part of the task is as important as writing the Heap class. The given version of the
testing class covers only some basic cases. Therefore, you should extend it with extra cases to make sure
that your data structure is checked against other potential mistakes.
Further Notes
Explore the material of chapter 9.4 of the SIT221 course book “Data structures and algorithms in Java”
(2014) by M. Goodrich, R. Tamassia, and M. Goldwasser. You may access the book on‐line for free from
SIT221 Data Structures and Algorithms Trimester 2, 2019
4
the reading list application in CloudDeakin available in Resources Additional Course Resources
Resources on Algorithms and Data Structures Course Book: Data structures and algorithms in Java. As
a supplementary material, to learn more about the theory part and implementation issues of binary
heaps, you may refer to the Section 9.2.3 of Chapter 9 of SIT221 Workbook available in CloudDeakin in
Resources Additional Course Resources Resources on Algorithms and Data Structures SIT221
Workbook .
The lecture notes of week 6 may be the best material to understand the logic behind a binary heap and
its array‐based implementation.
Marking Process and Discussion
To get your task completed, you must finish the following steps strictly on time.
Make sure that your program implements all the required functionality, is compliable, and has no runtime
errors. Programs causing compilation or runtime errors will not be accepted as a solution. You need to
test your program thoroughly before submission. Think about potential errors where your program might
fail.
Submit your program code as an answer to the task via OnTrack submission system. Cloud students must
record a short video explaining their work and solution to the task.
Meet with your marking tutor to demonstrate and discuss your program in one of the dedicated practical
sessions. Be on time with respect to the specified discussion deadline.
Answer all additional (theoretical) questions that your tutor can ask you. Questions are likely to cover
lecture notes, so attending (or watching) lectures should help you with this compulsory interview part.
Please, come prepared so that the class time is used efficiently and fairly for all the students in it. You
should start your interview as soon as possible as if your answers are wrong, you may have to pass another
interview, still before the deadline. Use available attempts properly.
Note that we will not check your solution after the submission deadline and will not discuss it after the
discussion deadline. If you fail one of the deadlines, you fail the task and this reduces the chance to pass the
unit. Unless extended for all students, the deadlines are strict to guarantee smooth and on‐time work
through the unit.
Remember that this is your responsibility to keep track of your progress in the unit that includes checking
which tasks have been marked as completed in the OnTrack system by your marking tutor, and which are still
to be finalised. When marking you at the end of the unit, we will solely rely on the records of the OnTrack
system and feedback provided by your tutor about your overall progress and quality of your solutions.
Expected Printout
This section displays the printout produced by the attached Tester class, specifically by its Main method. It is
based on our solution. The printout is provided here to help with testing your code for potential logical errors.
It demonstrates the correct logic rather than an expected printout in terms of text and alignment.
Test A: Create a min-heap by calling 'minHeap = new Heap(new IntAscendingComparer());'
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state []
Test B: Run a sequence of operations:
Insert a node with name Kelly (data) and ID 1 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1)]
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Insert a node with name Cindy (data) and ID 6 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1),(6,Cindy,2)]
Insert a node with name John (data) and ID 5 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1),(6,Cindy,2),(5,John,3)]
Insert a node with name Andrew (data) and ID 7 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1),(6,Cindy,2),(5,John,3),(7,Andrew,4)]
Insert a node with name Richard (data) and ID 8 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1),(6,Cindy,2),(5,John,3),(7,Andrew,4),(8,Richard,5)]
Insert a node with name Michael (data) and ID 3 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1),(6,Cindy,2),(3,Michael,3),(7,Andrew,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6)]
Insert a node with name Guy (data) and ID 10 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1),(6,Cindy,2),(3,Michael,3),(7,Andrew,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7)]
Insert a node with name Elicia (data) and ID 4 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(4,Elicia,2),(3,Michael,3),(6,Cindy,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8)]
Insert a node with name Tom (data) and ID 2 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(2,Tom,2),(3,Michael,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(6,Cindy,9)]
Insert a node with name Iman (data) and ID 9 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(2,Tom,2),(3,Michael,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(6,Cindy,9),(9,Iman,10)]
Insert a node with name Simon (data) and ID 14 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(2,Tom,2),(3,Michael,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(6,Cindy,9),(9,Iman,10),(
14,Simon,11)]
Insert a node with name Vicky (data) and ID 12 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(2,Tom,2),(3,Michael,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(6,Cindy,9),(9,Iman,10),(
14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12)]
Insert a node with name Kevin (data) and ID 11 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(2,Tom,2),(3,Michael,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(6,Cindy,9),(9,Iman,10),(
14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12),(11,Kevin,13)]
Insert a node with name David (data) and ID 13 (key).
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:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(2,Tom,2),(3,Michael,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(6,Cindy,9),(9,Iman,10),(
14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12),(11,Kevin,13),(13,David,14)]
Test C: Run a sequence of operations:
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(2,Tom,1),(4,Elicia,2),(3,Michael,3),(6,Cindy,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(13,David,9),(9,Iman,10
),(14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12),(11,Kevin,13)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(3,Michael,1),(4,Elicia,2),(5,John,3),(6,Cindy,4),(8,Richard,5),(11,Kevin,6),(10,Guy,7),(7,Andrew,8),(13,David,9),(9,Iman,
10),(14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(4,Elicia,1),(6,Cindy,2),(5,John,3),(7,Andrew,4),(8,Richard,5),(11,Kevin,6),(10,Guy,7),(12,Vicky,8),(13,David,9),(9,Iman,1
0),(14,Simon,11)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(5,John,1),(6,Cindy,2),(10,Guy,3),(7,Andrew,4),(8,Richard,5),(11,Kevin,6),(14,Simon,7),(12,Vicky,8),(13,David,9),(9,Ima
n,10)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(6,Cindy,1),(7,Andrew,2),(10,Guy,3),(9,Iman,4),(8,Richard,5),(11,Kevin,6),(14,Simon,7),(12,Vicky,8),(13,David,9)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(7,Andrew,1),(8,Richard,2),(10,Guy,3),(9,Iman,4),(13,David,5),(11,Kevin,6),(14,Simon,7),(12,Vicky,8)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(8,Richard,1),(9,Iman,2),(10,Guy,3),(12,Vicky,4),(13,David,5),(11,Kevin,6),(14,Simon,7)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(9,Iman,1),(12,Vicky,2),(10,Guy,3),(14,Simon,4),(13,David,5),(11,Kevin,6)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(10,Guy,1),(12,Vicky,2),(11,Kevin,3),(14,Simon,4),(13,David,5)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(11,Kevin,1),(12,Vicky,2),(13,David,3),(14,Simon,4)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
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:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(12,Vicky,1),(14,Simon,2),(13,David,3)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(13,David,1),(14,Simon,2)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(14,Simon,1)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state []
Test D: Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: InvalidOperationException is thrown because the min-heap is empty
Test E: Run a sequence of operations:
Insert a node with name Kelly (data) and ID 1 (key).
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state [(1,Kelly,1)]
Build the min-heap for the pair of key-value arrays with
[1, 6, 5, 7, 8, 3, 10, 4, 2, 9, 14, 12, 11, 13] as keys and
[Kelly, Cindy, John, Andrew, Richard, Michael, Guy, Elicia, Tom, Iman, Simon, Vicky, Kevin, David] as data elements
:: SUCCESS: InvalidOperationException is thrown because the min-heap is not empty
Test F: Run a sequence of operations:
Clear the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state []
Build the min-heap for the pair of key-value arrays with
[1, 6, 5, 7, 8, 3, 10, 4, 2, 9, 14, 12, 11, 13] as keys and
[Kelly, Cindy, John, Andrew, Richard, Michael, Guy, Elicia, Tom, Iman, Simon, Vicky, Kevin, David] as data elements
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(1,Kelly,1),(2,Tom,2),(3,Michael,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(6,Cindy,8),(7,Andrew,9),(9,Iman,10),(
14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12),(11,Kevin,13),(13,David,14)]
Test G: Run a sequence of operations:
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
SIT221 Data Structures and Algorithms Trimester 2, 2019 8
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(2,Tom,1),(4,Elicia,2),(3,Michael,3),(6,Cindy,4),(8,Richard,5),(5,John,6),(10,Guy,7),(13,David,8),(7,Andrew,9),(9,Iman,10
),(14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12),(11,Kevin,13)]
Delete the minimum element from the min-heap.
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(3,Michael,1),(4,Elicia,2),(5,John,3),(6,Cindy,4),(8,Richard,5),(11,Kevin,6),(10,Guy,7),(13,David,8),(7,Andrew,9),(9,Iman,
10),(14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12)]
Run DecreaseKey(node,0) for node (13,David,8) by setting the new value of its key to 0
:: SUCCESS: min-heap's state
[(0,David,1),(3,Michael,2),(5,John,3),(4,Elicia,4),(8,Richard,5),(11,Kevin,6),(10,Guy,7),(6,Cindy,8),(7,Andrew,9),(9,Iman,1
0),(14,Simon,11),(12,Vicky,12)]
Test H: Run a sequence of operations:
Create a max-heap by calling 'maxHeap = new Heap(new IntDescendingComparer());'
:: SUCCESS: max-heap's state []
Build the max-heap for the pair of key-value arrays with
[1, 6, 5, 7, 8, 3, 10, 4, 2, 9, 14, 12, 11, 13] as keys and
[Kelly, Cindy, John, Andrew, Richard, Michael, Guy, Elicia, Tom, Iman, Simon, Vicky, Kevin, David] as data elements
:: SUCCESS: max-heap's state
[(14,Simon,1),(9,Iman,2),(13,David,3),(7,Andrew,4),(8,Richard,5),(12,Vicky,6),(10,Guy,7),(4,Elicia,8),(2,Tom,9),(6,Cindy,
10),(1,Kelly,11),(3,Michael,12),(11,Kevin,13),(5,John,14)]