You now have heap proficiency:
Heap basics: peek, insert and extract. Stored as arrays.
K-th element pattern: use a bounded heap of size . For k-th largest, use a min-heap.
K-way merge: heap tracks the frontier of candidates. to merge.
Two heaps: partition data around median. insertion, median query.
Combining structures: heaps often pair with hash maps (top k frequent) or other structures. Heaps are your tool when you need efficient, repeated access to extrema. learn these patterns and a whole class of problems becomes routine. You've completed the Data Structures fundamentals. Practice these patterns until they become automatic.