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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.