What is a Binary Search Tree?
A Binary Search Tree (BST) is a data structure in
computer science that is used to organize and store elements
in a way that allows for efficient search,
insertion, and deletion operations.
Binary Search Tree Characteristics
- In a Binary Search Tree, each node has at most two child nodes: a left child and a right child.
- The key property of a BST is that the key value of each node in the left subtree is
less than the key value of the node itself, and the key value of each node in the
right subtree is greater than the key value of the node.
- Additionally, balancing techniques such as AVL trees or Red-Black trees can be employed to
ensure that the tree remains balanced for better performance.
Fun Fact about BSTs
A fun fact about Binary Search Trees (BSTs) is that they are not limited to just numbers or
simple data types as keys. You can use a wide range of data types as keys in a BST, as long as they
can be compared for ordering. This means you can have Binary Search Trees of strings, objects,
or any custom data type, as long as you define a consistent way to compare them.
Pictures
Resources
More Information