A tree is a data structure used to represent hierarchical relationships. It is composed of nodes, which each contain a single item of data (called the key) and pointers to other nodes (called the branches). Trees are useful for representing hierarchical relationships such as those found in catalogs (e.g., a library catalog), network topologies, and software documentations.
A tree consists of a set of nodes with a single root node. Each node is linked to one or more other nodes. A common example of a tree is a family tree, which is a diagram showing the relationship between members of the family. Each node represents a person, and the branches represent the relationship between them.
The main benefit of using a tree is its efficiency when it comes to searching. When searching for a specific item of data, the tree can be traversed starting at the root node, and then moving down through subsequent nodes until the desired results are found.
An example of a tree structure is a binary tree. In a binary tree, each node has two branches that point to other nodes. The left branch points to a node with a lower numerical value than the current node, while the right branch points to a node with a higher numerical value. This enables fast searches of trees, since each node can quickly be checked in order to determine if it contains the desired data.
Trees are also commonly used to store binary data, since the structure of a tree can quickly break down a large amount of binary data into smaller chunks, making it easier to search for and process the desired data. For example, a decision tree is often used in computing to provide a visualization of how different decisions can lead to different results.
