Understanding Binary Search Trees: What is a BST with Example?

Learn about Binary Search Trees (BST) and their properties with an example to understand this important data structure.

34 views

A Binary Search Tree (BST) is a data structure in which each node has at most two children, referred to as the left child and the right child. The key property of a BST is that the left subtree of a node contains only nodes with values less than the node’s value, and the right subtree only nodes with values greater. For example, in a BST with nodes 5, 3, 7: 3 will be a left child of 5, and 7 will be a right child of 5, maintaining the BST property.

FAQs & Answers

  1. What are the properties of a Binary Search Tree? A Binary Search Tree has the property that for any node, all values in the left subtree are less, and all values in the right subtree are greater.
  2. How is a Binary Search Tree structured? A Binary Search Tree is structured such that each node has at most two children, with ordered placement based on their values.
  3. What are the benefits of using Binary Search Trees? Binary Search Trees improve search efficiency in sorted data retrieval, offering average time complexity of O(log n) for search operations.
  4. Can you provide a real-world application of a BST? Binary Search Trees are commonly used in databases and applications requiring sorted data, like dictionaries and routing algorithms.