Question

I want to use a queue data structure in my Objective-C program. In C++ I’d use the STL queue. What is the equivalent data structure in Objective-C? How do I push/pop items?

Answer 1

Ben’s version is a stack instead of a queue, so i tweaked it a bit:

NSMutableArray+QueueAdditions.h

@interface NSMutableArray (QueueAdditions)
- (id) dequeue;
- (void) enqueue:(id)obj;
@end

NSMutableArray+QueueAdditions.m

@implementation NSMutableArray (QueueAdditions)
// Queues are first-in-first-out, so we remove objects from the head
- (id) dequeue {
    // if ([self count] == 0) return nil; // to avoid raising exception (Quinn)
    id headObject = [self objectAtIndex:0];
    if (headObject != nil) {
        [[headObject retain] autorelease]; // so it isn't dealloc'ed on remove
        [self removeObjectAtIndex:0];
    }
    return headObject;
}

// Add to the tail of the queue (no one likes it when people cut in line!)
- (void) enqueue:(id)anObject {
    [self addObject:anObject];
    //this method automatically adds to the end of the array
}
@end

Just import the .h file wherever you want to use your new methods, and call them like you would any other NSMutableArray methods.