From: Jeff Carter <spam.carter.not@spam.innocon.com>
Subject: Re: What is a queue?
Date: 1999/02/10
Date: 1999-02-10T00:00:00+00:00 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <36C19EBE.FF25D409@spam.innocon.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 79q1qc$blj@top.mitre.org
Michael F Brenner wrote a long message about queues, which he defined as
having such operations as Add_To_Left and Add_To_Right.
All additions to a queue go on the tail, and all removals come from the
head. A structure which allows additions and removals from both ends is
a dequeue (pronounced deck).
The concept of a queue comes from the way people engage in ordered
waiting for something, such as service from a teller at a bank. The
first person to arrive is served and the others wait in order. Most
non-American English speakers call this collection of waiting people a
queue, and say the people are standing in a queue. Americans call it a
line, and say the people are waiting in line.
Of course, people waiting in [a queue | line] behave more like a list
than a (software) queue because people can leave the queue from any
position at any time, sometimes people cut in ahead of the tail of the
queue, and so on.
Brenner gives a derivation of the word queue from mathematical diagrams;
however, I think this is incorrect. Queue derives from the French word
queue, which means tail and predates the diagrams in question.
--
Jeff Carter
E-mail: carter commercial-at innocon [period | full stop] com
"You tiny-brained wipers of other people's bottoms!"
Monty Python & the Holy Grail
next prev parent reply other threads:[~1999-02-10 0:00 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 10+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
1999-01-25 0:00 What is a queue? Joshua Shriver
1999-01-26 0:00 ` dennison
1999-02-02 0:00 ` Nick Roberts
1999-02-09 0:00 ` Michael F Brenner
1999-02-10 0:00 ` adam
1999-02-10 0:00 ` Fraser Wilson
1999-02-10 0:00 ` Jeff Carter [this message]
1999-02-17 0:00 ` Michael F Brenner
1999-02-18 0:00 ` robert_dewar
1999-02-19 0:00 ` Jeff Carter
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