Trees
Definition
Trees are hierarchical data structures consisting of nodes connected by edges. Each node has zero or more child nodes, except for the root node which has no parent. Trees are commonly used for organizing data in a hierarchical manner.
Analogy
Think of trees as family trees. The oldest generation represents the root node, while subsequent generations form branches (child nodes) connected to their parents (parent nodes). This structure allows us to trace lineage and relationships within a family.
Related terms
Binary trees: Trees where each node has at most two child nodes.
Depth-first search: A traversal algorithm that explores as far as possible along each branch before backtracking.
AVL trees: Balanced binary search trees that maintain a balanced height to ensure efficient operations.
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