Queue-Tee Pie

🔖 Background Information

A queue is a data structure that follows a first-in first-out (FIFO) principle. Similar to the stack you can add elements to the queue (enqueue), remove elements from the queue (dequeue), and check if the queue is full.

🎯 Problem Statement

Write a queue data structure that stores “cute” objects. A cute object is an object that conforms to the Cutie interface / abstract base class (as outlined in the Dev Notes). You can use an array “under the hood”, meaning that your queue will have a maximum size.

✅ Acceptance Criteria

• The queue data structure should be an object.
• The queue should use an array list “under the hood” to store Cutie objects. You do not need to create a queue that resizes itself with new inputs.
• I should be able to enqueue(...) and dequeue(...) a Cutie object to the queue data structure.
• If I try to enqueue an object onto the queue while it is full, I should see a message telling me the queue is full. The queue should remain unchanged.
• I should be able to get the current size of the queue via a size(...) method (i.e. how many elements are in the queue).
• You do not have to implement a generic queue structure. You can instead have it store Cutie objects directly. There is an extra credit opportunity to make the queue generic.

📋 Dev Notes

• You cannot use the built-in queue in this solution.
• You do not have to implement the Cutie interface / abstract base class from scratch. I have provided it here:

C++

class Cutie {
  private:
    string description;
    int cuteness_rating
 
  public:
    Cutie(string description, int cuteness_rating) {
      this->description = description;
      this->cuteness_rating = cuteness_rating;
    }
 
    virtual string get_description() = 0;
    virtual int get_cuteness_rating() = 0;
}

Java

interface Cutie {
  public String description();     // All cuties need to > have a description of what makes them cute.
  public Integer cutenessRating(); // All cuties get a cuteness rating out of ten.
}

🖥️ Example Output

Suppose you wrote a queue data structure called QueueTees. You then created Puppy, Kitty, and PygmyMarmoset which all conform to that interface / abstract base class. Your driver program might look something like this:

C++

int main() {
  // Create a bunch of objects that implement the Cutie base class
  Puppy puppy;
  Kitty kitty;
  PygmyMarmoset marmoset;
 
  // Create a queue data structure
  QueueTees queue;
 
  // The size of the queue should equal zero since there are no objects in it
  cout << queue.size();
 
  // Add the cuties to the queue
  queue.enqueue(puppy);
  queue.enqueue(kitty);
  queue.enqueue(marmoset);
 
  // The size of the queue should equal three since there are three objects in it
  cout << queue.size();
 
  // The first dequeue should return the puppy
  queue.dequeue();
 
  // The second dequeue should return the kitty
  queue.dequeue();
 
  // The third dequeue should return the pygmy marmoset
  queue.dequeue();
}

Java

// Create a bunch of objects that conform to the Cutie interface
Puppy puppy = new Puppy();
Kitty kitty = new Kitty();
PygmyMarmoset marmoset = new PygmyMarmoset();
 
// Create a queue data structure
QueueTees queue = new QueueTees();
 
// The size of the queue should equal zero since there are no objects in it
System.out.println(queue.size());
 
// Add the cuties to the queue
queue.enqueue(puppy);
queue.enqueue(kitty);
queue.enqueue(marmoset);
 
// The size of the queue should equal three since there are three objects in it
System.out.println(queue.size());
 
// The first dequeue should return the puppy
queue.dequeue();
 
// The second dequeue should return the kitty
queue.dequeue();
 
// The third dequeue should return the pygmy marmoset
queue.dequeue();

📝 Thought Provoking Questions

1. How might you create a queue with no theoretical maximum size?
2. Right now, your queue is restricted to store Cutie objects only. How might you change your queue class to store a variety of different types of objects?

💼 Optional Extra Credit

(1/4 Point) Clear Method

Create a method that clears all elements in the queue.

(1/2 Point) Generic Queue

Update your queue class to allow the user to specify what type of object will be stored in the queue. You can use a class template to specify the type of object. The behavior of your queue should not change otherwise.

🔗 Useful Links

• C++ Project Template
• Java Project Template

📘 Works Cited

N/A