Tree Data Structure-
Tree data structure may be defined as-
Tree is a non-linear data structure which organizes data in a hierarchical structure and this is a recursive
definition.
OR
A tree is a connected graph without any circuits.
OR
If in a graph, there is one and only one path between every pair of vertices, then graph is called as a tree.
Example-
Properties-
The important properties of tree data structure are-
There is one and only one path between every pair of vertices in a tree.
A tree with n vertices has exactly (n-1) edges.
A graph is a tree if and only if it is minimally connected.
Any connected graph with n vertices and (n-1) edges is a tree.
Tree Terminology-
The important terms related to tree data structure are-
1. Root-
The first node from where the tree originates is called as a root node.
In any tree, there must be only one root node.
We can never have multiple root nodes in a tree data structure.
Example-
Here, node A is the only root node.
2. Edge-
The connecting link between any two nodes is called as an edge.
In a tree with n number of nodes, there are exactly (n-1) number of edges.
Example-
3. Parent-
The node which has a branch from it to any other node is called as a parent node.
In other words, the node which has one or more children is called as a parent node.
In a tree, a parent node can have any number of child nodes.
Example-
Here,
Node A is the parent of nodes B and C
Node B is the parent of nodes D, E and F
Node C is the parent of nodes G and H
Node E is the parent of nodes I and J
Node G is the parent of node K
4. Child-
The node which is a descendant of some node is called as a child node.
All the nodes except root node are child nodes.
Example-
Here,
Nodes B and C are the children of node A
Nodes D, E and F are the children of node B
Nodes G and H are the children of node C
Nodes I and J are the children of node E
Node K is the child of node G
5. Siblings-
Nodes which belong to the same parent are called as siblings.
Example-
Here,
Nodes B and C are siblings
Nodes D, E and F are siblings
Nodes G and H are siblings
Nodes I and J are siblings
6. Degree-
Degree of a node is the total number of children of that node.
Degree of a tree is the highest degree of a node among all the nodes in the tree.
Example-
Here,
Degree of node A = 2
Degree of node B = 3
Degree of node C = 2
Degree of node D = 0
Degree of node E = 2
Degree of node F = 0
Degree of node G = 1
Degree of node H = 0
Degree of node I = 0
Degree of node J = 0
Degree of node K = 0
7. Internal Node-
The node which has at least one child is called as an internal node.
Internal nodes are also called as non-terminal nodes.
Every non-leaf node is an internal node.
Example-
Here, nodes A, B, C, E and G are internal nodes.
8. Leaf Node-
The node which does not have any child is called as a leaf node.
Leaf nodes are also called as external nodes or terminal nodes.
Example-
Here, nodes D, I, J, F, K and H are leaf nodes.
9. Level-
In a tree, each step from top to bottom is called as level of a tree.
The level count starts with 0 and increments by 1 at each level or step.
Example-
10. Height-
Total number of edges that lies on the longest path from any leaf node to a particular node is
called as height of that node.
Height of a tree is the height of root node.
Height of all leaf nodes = 0
Example-
Here,
Height of node A = 3
Height of node B = 2
Height of node C = 2
Height of node D = 0
Height of node E = 1
Height of node F = 0
Height of node G = 1
Height of node H = 0
Height of node I = 0
Height of node J = 0
Height of node K = 0
11. Depth-
Total number of edges from root node to a particular node is called as depth of that node.
Depth of a tree is the total number of edges from root node to a leaf node in the longest
path.
Depth of the root node = 0
The terms “level” and “depth” are used interchangeably.
Example-
Here,
Depth of node A = 0
Depth of node B = 1
Depth of node C = 1
Depth of node D = 2
Depth of node E = 2
Depth of node F = 2
Depth of node G = 2
Depth of node H = 2
Depth of node I = 3
Depth of node J = 3
Depth of node K = 3
12. Subtree-
In a tree, each child from a node forms a subtree recursively.
Every child node forms a subtree on its parent node.
Example-