Understanding the top K elements pattern

The heap data structure implemented as a binary tree follows the special heap property, which guarantees an order among extracted values. Data stored in a min-heap is extracted in the increasing order of its values, while for a max-heap, it is extracted in the decreasing order of values. Some problems require us to find and process the top k items in a dataset. While there are other ways, like sorting, to solve such problems, we can use a heap to solve them more efficiently and in a single pass using the top k technique.

In this lesson, we will learn more about using the top k technique to solve problems and how to identify a problem as a top k pattern problem.