queue

The queue module provides a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) queue data structure that supports efficient enqueue and dequeue operations. This is an extension module of xmake.

TIP

To use this module, you need to import it first: import("core.base.queue")

queue.new

• Create an empty queue

Function Prototype

API

queue.new()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Creates a new empty queue object.

local q = queue.new()
print(q:size())   -- Output: 0
print(q:empty())  -- Output: true

queue:push

• Enqueue (add element to the end)

Function Prototype

API

queue:push(item: <any>)

Parameter Description

Parameter	Description
item	Required. Element to add to the queue

Usage

Adds an element to the end of the queue. This is a fundamental queue operation.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)

print(q:size())   -- Output: 3
print(q:first())  -- Output: 1 (front element)
print(q:last())   -- Output: 3 (rear element)

The queue supports storing various types of values:

local q = queue.new()
q:push("hello")
q:push(123)
q:push({key = "value"})
q:push(true)

queue:pop

• Dequeue (remove and return element from the front)

Function Prototype

API

queue:pop()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Removes and returns an element from the front of the queue. Returns nil if the queue is empty. This is a fundamental queue operation.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)

local first = q:pop()
print(first)      -- Output: 1
print(q:first())  -- Output: 2 (new front element)
print(q:size())   -- Output: 2

Process the queue until empty:

local q = queue.new()
q:push(10)
q:push(20)
q:push(30)

while not q:empty() do
    local item = q:pop()
    print(item)  -- Output: 10, 20, 30
end

queue:first

• Peek at the front element

Function Prototype

API

queue:first()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Returns the first element (front) of the queue without removing it. Returns nil if the queue is empty.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)

print(q:first())  -- Output: 1
print(q:size())   -- Output: 3 (element not removed)

Used to check the next element to be processed:

local q = queue.new()
q:push("task1")
q:push("task2")

-- Peek without processing
if q:first() == "task1" then
    print("Next task is task1")
end

queue:last

• Peek at the rear element

Function Prototype

API

queue:last()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Returns the last element (rear) of the queue without removing it. Returns nil if the queue is empty.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)

print(q:last())   -- Output: 3
print(q:size())   -- Output: 3 (element not removed)

queue:size

• Get queue size

Function Prototype

API

queue:size()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Returns the number of elements in the queue.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)

print(q:size())  -- Output: 3

q:pop()
print(q:size())  -- Output: 2

queue:empty

• Check if queue is empty

Function Prototype

API

queue:empty()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Returns true if the queue is empty (contains no elements).

local q = queue.new()
print(q:empty())  -- Output: true

q:push(1)
print(q:empty())  -- Output: false

Used for processing queue in a loop:

local q = queue.new()
q:push("item1")
q:push("item2")
q:push("item3")

while not q:empty() do
    local item = q:pop()
    print("Processing:", item)
end

queue:clear

• Clear the queue

Function Prototype

API

queue:clear()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Removes all elements from the queue, resetting it to an empty queue.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)

print(q:size())  -- Output: 3

q:clear()
print(q:size())  -- Output: 0
print(q:empty()) -- Output: true

queue:clone

• Clone the queue

Function Prototype

API

queue:clone()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Creates a complete copy of the queue, with the new queue being independent of the original.

Used for saving queue snapshots:

local q1 = queue.new()
q1:push(1)
q1:push(2)
q1:push(3)

local q2 = q1:clone()

-- Modifying the copy doesn't affect the original
q2:pop()
print(q1:size())  -- Output: 3 (original unchanged)
print(q2:size())  -- Output: 2 (copy modified)

queue:items

• Iterate forward through the queue

Function Prototype

API

queue:items()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Returns an iterator function for traversing all elements in the queue from front to rear.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)
q:push(4)
q:push(5)

for item in q:items() do
    print(item)  -- Output: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
end

Verify queue order:

local q = queue.new()
q:push(10)
q:push(20)
q:push(30)

local idx = 1
local expected = {10, 20, 30}
for item in q:items() do
    assert(item == expected[idx])
    idx = idx + 1
end

TIP

Iteration does not modify the queue content; elements remain in the queue after iteration.

queue:ritems

• Iterate backward through the queue

Function Prototype

API

queue:ritems()

Parameter Description

No parameters required for this function.

Usage

Returns an iterator function for traversing all elements in the queue from rear to front.

local q = queue.new()
q:push(1)
q:push(2)
q:push(3)
q:push(4)
q:push(5)

for item in q:ritems() do
    print(item)  -- Output: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
end

TIP

The queue module implements a standard FIFO (First-In-First-Out) queue, suitable for task scheduling, message queues, breadth-first search, and other scenarios. Both enqueue (push) and dequeue (pop) operations have O(1) time complexity.

WARNING

• Queue is a FIFO structure; elements that are enqueued first are dequeued first
• pop() operation removes the element, first() only peeks without removing
• Calling pop() on an empty queue returns nil
• Iteration (items(), ritems()) does not modify queue content