What is tree data structure?

A tree data structure is a hierarchical structure that is used to represent and

organize data in a way that is easy to navigate and search. It is a collection of
nodes that are connected by edges and has a hierarchical relationship between the
nodes.
This data structure is a specialized method to organize and store data in the
computer to be used more effectively. It consists of a central node, structural
nodes, and sub-nodes, which are connected via edges. We can also say that tree
data structure has roots, branches, and leaves connected with one another.

Basic Terminologies In Tree Data Structure:

 Parent Node: The node which is a predecessor of a node is called the parent
node of that node. {B} is the parent node of {D, E}.
 Child Node: The node which is the immediate successor of a node is called
the child node of that node. Examples: {D, E} are the child nodes of {B}.
 Root Node: The topmost node of a tree or the node which does not have any
parent node is called the root node. {A} is the root node of the tree. A non-
empty tree must contain exactly one root node and exactly one path from the
root to all other nodes of the tree.
 Leaf Node or External Node: The nodes which do not have any child nodes
are called leaf nodes. {K, L, M, N, O, P, G} are the leaf nodes of the tree.
 Ancestor of a Node: Any predecessor nodes on the path of the root to that
node are called Ancestors of that node. {A,B} are the ancestor nodes of the
node {E}
 Descendant: Any successor node on the path from the leaf node to that
node. {E,I} are the descendants of the node {B}.
 Sibling: Children of the same parent node are called siblings. {D,E} are called
siblings.
 Level of a node: The count of edges on the path from the root node to that
node. The root node has level 0.
 Internal node: A node with at least one child is called Internal Node.
 Neighbour of a Node: Parent or child nodes of that node are called neighbors
of that node.
 Subtree: Any node of the tree along with its descendant.

Representation of a Node in Tree Data Structure:

struct Node
{
int data;
struct Node *first_child;
struct Node *second_child;
struct Node *third_child;
.
.
.
struct Node *nth_child;
};

Basic Operation Of Tree Data Structure:

 Create – create a tree in the data structure.
 Insert − Inserts data in a tree.
 Search − Searches specific data in a tree to check whether it is present or not.
 Traversal:
 Preorder Traversal – perform Traveling a tree in a pre-order
manner in the data structure.
 In order Traversal – perform Traveling a tree in an in-order
manner.
  Post-order Traversal –perform Traveling a tree in a post-order
manner.
Why Tree is considered a non-linear data structure?
The data in a tree are not stored in a sequential manner i.e., they are not stored
linearly. Instead, they are arranged on multiple levels or we can say it is a
hierarchical structure. For this reason, the tree is considered to be a non-linear
data structure.

Properties of Tree Data Structure:

 Number of edges: An edge can be defined as the connection between two
nodes. If a tree has N nodes then it will have (N-1) edges. There is only one
path from each node to any other node of the tree.
 Depth of a node: The depth of a node is defined as the length of the path from
the root to that node. Each edge adds 1 unit of length to the path. So, it can
also be defined as the number of edges in the path from the root of the tree to
the node.
 Height of a node: The height of a node can be defined as the length of the
longest path from the node to a leaf node of the tree.
 Height of the Tree: The height of a tree is the length of the longest path from
the root of the tree to a leaf node of the tree.
 Degree of a Node: The total count of subtrees attached to that node is called
the degree of the node. The degree of a leaf node must be 0. The degree of a
tree is the maximum degree of a node among all the nodes in the tree.
Application of Tree Data Structure:
 File System: This allows for efficient navigation and organization of files.
 Compiler Design: In compiler design, a syntax tree is used to represent the
structure of a program.
 Database Indexing: B-trees and other tree structures are used in database
indexing to efficiently search for and retrieve data.
Advantages of Tree Data Structure:
 Tree offer Efficient Searching Depending on the type of tree, with average
search times of O(log n) for balanced trees like AVL.
 Trees provide a hierarchical representation of data, making it easy to organize
and navigate large amounts of information.