Creating a queue in Javascript

Question

I'm writing a queue in javascript, and am not sure what is the best way to implement it:

Option 1:

Do something like...

var queue = []

...and use push/shift functions to enqueue/dequeue.

Option 2:

Create an object like so:

var myQueue = new function() {
  this.queue = [];
  this.enqueue(x) = function() { this.queue.push(x) };
  this.dequeue() = function { this.queue.shift() };
}

Option 3:

Something else that you suggest?

The only advantage that I can see to using option 2 over 1 is that if I want to create a unique method to call on myQueue (e.g. dequeueTwoElements), I'd be able to do so.

Thoughts?

I've looked at Queue.js but don't want to use 3rd party libraries for now. — codersun3
– codersun3, Commented Jul 12, 2015 at 22:30
dequeue needs to return the result return this.queue.shift();. — jfriend00
– jfriend00, Commented Jul 12, 2015 at 22:50
Probably want the function to be a named function so you can reuse it more than once for more than one purpose. — jfriend00
– jfriend00, Commented Jul 12, 2015 at 22:57
@jfriend00 Will fix the return, thanks! I'm curious about where these functions could be reused? In another queue? — codersun3
– codersun3, Commented Jul 12, 2015 at 23:18

dm03514 · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-12 22:46:22Z

3

I don't think there IS a best way to implement it. Wrapping your queue in a custom object will provide all the benefits of encapsulation, and implementation hiding.

Suppose for some reason you wanted to change myQueue to use an object instead of an array internally, it would allow you to do that, without messing up any of its clients.

Additionally, I think it will be easier for someone new to your code to explicitly understand that your queue is indeed a queue. This is because they have a function constructor definition to look at, and the enqueue and dequeue function are more explicit then passing around an array named queue and calling js array methods on it.

answered Jul 12, 2015 at 22:46

dm03514

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