MIST, Sathupally

UNIT-III

TREES INTRODUCTION
The tree is a nonlinear hierarchical data structure and comprises a collection of
entities known as nodes. It connects each node in the tree data structure using
"edges”, both directed and undirected.

The image below represents the tree data structure. The blue-colored circles depict
the nodes of the tree and the black lines connecting each node with another are
called edges.

You will understand the parts of trees better, in the terminologies section.

The Necessity for a Tree in Data Structures:

Other data structures like arrays, linked-list, stacks, and queues are linear data
structures, and all these data structures store data in sequential order. Time
complexity increases with increasing data size to perform operations like insertion
and deletion on these linear data structures. But it is not acceptable for today's
world of computation.
The non-linear structure of trees enhances the data storing, data accessing, and
manipulation processes by employing advanced control methods traversal through
it. You will learn about tree traversal in the upcoming section.

Tree Terminologies
The following are some of the basic tree terms

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 Root Node
 Edge
 Parent node
 Child nod
 Siblings
 Leaf nodes or external nodes
 Internal nodes
 Degree
 Level
 Height
 Depth
 Path
 Subtree
 Root
 In a tree data structure, the root is the first node of the tree. The root node is
the initial node of the tree in data structures.
 In the tree data structure, there must be only one root node.

Edge
 In a tree in data structures, the connecting link of any two nodes is called the
edge of the tree data structure.

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 In the tree data structure, N number of nodes connecting with N -1 number

of edges.

Parent:

In the tree in data structures, the node that is the predecessor of any node is known
as a parent node, or a node with a branch from itself to any other successive node
is called the parent node.

Child
 The node, a descendant of any node, is known as child nodes in data
structures.
 In a tree, any number of parent nodes can have any number of child
nodes.
 In a tree, every node except the root node is a child node.

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Siblings:
In trees in the data structure, nodes that belong to the same parent are called
siblings.

Leaf :
• Trees in the data structure, the node with no child, is known as a leaf node.
• In trees, leaf nodes are also called external nodes or terminal nodes.

Internal nodes:
• Trees in the data structure have at least one child node known as internal nodes.
• In trees, nodes other than leaf nodes are internal nodes.

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• Sometimes root nodes are also called internal nodes if the tree has more than one
node.

Degree
• In the tree data structure, the total number of children of a node is called the
degree of the node.
• The highest degree of the node among all the nodes in a tree is called the Degree
of Tree.

Level
In tree data structures, the root node is said to be at level 0, and the root node's
children are at level 1, and the children of that node at level 1 will be level 2, and
so on.

Height

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o In a tree data structure, the number of edges from the leaf node to the
particular node in the longest path is known as the height of that node.
o In the tree, the height of the root node is called "Height of Tree".
o The tree height of all leaf nodes is 0.

Depth
 In a tree, many edges from the root node to the particular node are called the
depth of the tree.
 In the tree, the total number of edges from the root node to the leaf node in
the longest path is known as "Depth of Tree".
 In the tree data structures, the depth of the root node is 0

Path
• In the tree in data structures, the sequence of nodes and edges from
one node to another node is called the path between those two nodes.
• The length of a path is the total number of nodes in a path.zx

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Subtree
In the tree in data structures, each child from a node shapes a sub-tree recursively
and every child in the tree will form a sub-tree on its parent node.

General Tree
The general tree is the type of tree where there are no constraints on the
hierarchical structure. Properties
• The general tree follows all properties of the tree data structure.
• A node can have any number of nodes.

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BINARY TREES
The Binary tree means that the node can have maximum two children. Here, binary
name itself suggests that 'two'; therefore, each node can have either 0, 1 or 2
children.
Let's understand the binary tree through an example.

The above tree is a binary tree because each node contains the utmost two children.
The logical representation of the above tree is given below:

In the above tree, node 1 contains two pointers, i.e., left and a right pointer
pointing to the left and right node respectively. The node 2 contains both the nodes
(left and right node); therefore, it has two pointers (left and right). The nodes 3, 5
and 6 are the leaf nodes, so all these nodes contain NULL pointer on both left and
right parts.
Properties of Binary Tree
 At each level of i, the maximum number of nodes is 2i.

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 The height of the tree is defined as the longest path from the root node to the
leaf node. The tree which is shown above has a height equal to 3.
 Therefore, the maximum number of nodes at height 3 is equal to (1+2+4+8)
= 15.
 In general, the maximum number of nodes possible at height h is (20 + 21 +
22+….2h) = 2h+1 -1.
 If the number of nodes is minimum, then the height of the tree would be
maximum.
 Conversely, if the number of nodes is maximum, then the height of the tree
would be minimum. If there are 'n' number of nodes in the binary tree.
The minimum height can be computed as:
As we know that,
n = 2h+1 -1
n+1 = 2h+1
Taking log on both the sides,
log2(n+1) = log2(2h+1)
log2(n+1) = h+1
h = log2(n+1) – 1
The maximum height can be computed as:
As we know that,
n = h+1
h= n-1
Types of Binary Tree
There are four types of Binary tree:
Full/ proper/ strict Binary tree
1. Complete Binary tree
2. Perfect Binary tree
3. Degenerate Binary tree
4. Balanced Binary tree
1. Full/ proper/ strict Binary tree

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The full binary tree is also known as a strict binary tree. The tree can only be
considered as the full binary tree if each node must contain either 0 or 2 children.
The full binary tree can also be defined as the tree in which each node must contain
2 children except the leaf nodes.
Let's look at the simple example of the Full Binary tree.

In the above tree, we can observe that each node is either containing zero or two
children; therefore, it is a Full Binary tree.
Properties of Full Binary Tree
 The number of leaf nodes is equal to the number of internal nodes
plus 1. In the above example, the number of internal nodes is 5;
therefore, the number of leaf nodes is equal to 6.
 The maximum number of nodes is the same as the number of nodes in
the binary tree, i.e., 2h+1 -1.
 The minimum number of nodes in the full binary tree is 2*h-1.
 The minimum height of the full binary tree is log2(n+1) - 1.
 The maximum height of the full binary tree can be computed as
n= 2*h - 1
n+1 = 2*h
h = n+1/2
1) Complete Binary Tree

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The complete binary tree is a tree in which all the nodes are completely filled
except the last level. In the last level, all the nodes must be as left as possible. In a
complete binary tree, the nodes should be added from the left.
Let's create a complete binary tree.

The above tree is a complete binary tree because all the nodes are completely
filled, and all the nodes in the last level are added at the left first.
Properties of Complete Binary Tree
 The maximum number of nodes in complete binary tree is 2h+1 - 1.
 The minimum number of nodes in complete binary tree is 2h.
 The minimum height of a complete binary tree is log2(n+1) - 1.
 The maximum height of a complete binary tree is
2) Perfect Binary Tree :
A tree is a perfect binary tree if all the internal nodes have 2 children, and all the
leaf nodes are at the same level

Let's look at a simple example of a perfect binary tree.

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The below tree is not a perfect binary tree because all the leaf nodes are not at the
same level.

3) Degenerate Binary Tree

The degenerate binary tree is a tree in which all the internal nodes have only one
children. Let's understand the Degenerate binary tree through examples.

The above tree is a degenerate binary tree because all the nodes have only one
child. It is also known as a right-skewed tree as all the nodes have a right child
only.

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The above tree is also a degenerate binary tree because all the nodes have only one
child. It is also known as a left-skewed tree as all the nodes have a left child only.
4) Balanced Binary Tree
The balanced binary tree is a tree in which both the left and right trees height
differs by almost 1.
For example, AVL and Red-Black trees are balanced binary tree.
Let's understand the balanced binary tree through examples.

The above tree is a balanced binary tree because the difference between the height
of left subtree and right subtree is zero.

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The above tree is not a balanced binary tree because the difference between the
height of left subtree and the right subtree is greater than 1.

Tree Traversals:
Unlike linear data structures (Array, Linked List, Queues, Stacks, etc) which have
only one logical way to traverse them, trees can be traversed in different ways.
Following are the generally used ways for traversing trees.
Depth First Traversals:
(a) Inorder (Left, Root, Right)
(b) Preorder (Root, Left, Right)
(c) Postorder (Left, Right, Root)
Breadth-First or Level Order Traversal
Let see each traversal method with example.
a) Inorder Traversal
Algorithm Inorder(tree)
1. Traverse the left subtree, i.e., call Inorder(left-subtree)
2. Visit the root.
3. Traverse the right subtree, i.e., call Inorder(right-subtree)

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Uses of Inorder
In the case of binary search trees (BST), Inorder traversal gives nodes in non-
decreasing order.
To get nodes of BST in non-increasing order, a variation of Inorder traversal where
Inorder traversal s reversed can be used.
Example:

In order traversal for the above-given figure is 4 2 5 1 3.

b) Preorder Traversal
Algorithm Preorder(tree)
1. Visit the root.
2. Traverse the left subtree, i.e., call Preorder(left-subtree)
3. Traverse the right subtree, i.e., call Preorder(right-subtree)
Uses of Preorder
Preorder traversal is used to create a copy of the tree. Preorder traversal is also
used to get prefix expression on an expression tree.

Example:
Preorder traversal for the above-given figure is 1 2 4 5 3.

c) Postorder Traversal

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Algorithm Postorder(tree)
1. Traverse the left subtree, i.e., call Postorder(left-subtree)
2. Traverse the right subtree, i.e., call Postorder(right-subtree)
3. Visit the root.
EXAMPLE

Example: Postorder traversal for the above-given figure is 4 5 2 3 1.

Uses of Postorder
Postorder traversal is also useful to get the postfix expression of an expression tree.

Level Order Binary Tree Traversal

Level order traversal of a tree is breadth first traversal for the tree.

Level order traversal of the above tree is 1 2 3 4 5

Construct a binary tree from inorder and postorder traversals
The idea is to start with the root node, which would be the last item in the
postorder sequence, and find the boundary of its left and right subtree in the
inorder sequence. To find the boundary, search for the index of the root node in the
inorder sequence. All keys before the root node in the inorder sequence become
part of the left subtree, and all keys after the root node become part of the right

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subtree. Repeat this recursively for all nodes in the tree and construct the tree in the
process.
To illustrate, consider the following inorder and postorder sequence:

Inorder : { 4, 2, 1, 7, 5, 8, 3, 6 }
Postorder : { 4, 2, 7, 8, 5, 6, 3, 1 }
Root would be the last element in the postorder sequence, i.e., 1. Next, locate the
index of the root node in the inorder sequence. Now since 1 is the root node, all
nodes before 1 in the inorder sequence must be included in the left subtree of the
root node, i.e., {4, 2} and all the nodes after 1 must be included in the right subtree,
i.e., {7, 5, 8, 3, 6}. Now the problem is reduced to building the left and right
subtrees and linking them to the root node.
Left subtree:
Inorder : {4, 2}
Postorder : {4, 2}
Right subtree:
Inorder : {7, 5, 8, 3, 6}
Postorder : {7, 8, 5, 6, 3}
The idea is to recursively follow the above approach until the complete tree is
constructed.
The final tree will be

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Binary Search Tree (BST)

A Binary Search Tree (BST) is a tree in which all the nodes follow
the below-mentioned properties –
• The value of the key of the left sub-tree is less than the value of its
parent (root) node's key.
• The value of the key of the right sub-tree is greater than or equal to
the value of its parent (root) node's key.
Let’s understand the concept of Binary search tree with an example.

In the above figure, we

can observe that the root
node is 40, and all the
nodes of the left subtree
are smaller than the
root node, and all the
nodes of the right
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subtree are greater than

the root
node.
Similarly, we can see the
left child of root node is
greater than its left child
and smaller than its
right child. So, it also
satisfies the property of
binary search tree.
Therefore, we can say
that the
tree in the above image
is a binary search tree.

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Suppose if we change the

value of node 35 to 55 in
the above tree, check
whether the tree will be
binary search tree or not
 In the above figure, we can observe that the root node is 40, and all
the nodes of the left subtree are smaller than the root node, and all
the nodes of the right subtree are greater than the root node.
 Similarly, we can see the left child of root node is greater than its left
child and smaller than its right child. So, it also satisfies the property
of binary search tree.
 Therefore, we can say that the tree in the above image is a binary
search tree. Suppose if we change the value of node 35 to 55 in the
above tree, check whether the tree will be binary search tree or not.

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In the above tree, the value of root node is 40, which is greater than its left child 30
but smaller than right child of 30, i.e., 55. So, the above tree does not satisfy the
property of Binary search tree. Therefore, the above tree is not a binary search tree.

Advantages of Binary search tree

o Searching an element in the Binary search tree is easy as we always
have a hint that
which subtree has the desired element.
o As compared to array and linked lists, insertion and deletion operations are
faster in BST.
Example of creating a Binary Search Tree (BST)
Now, let's see the creation of binary search tree using an example.
Suppose the data elements are - 45, 15, 79, 90, 10, 55, 12, 20, 50
o First, we have to insert 45 into the tree as the root of the tree.
o Then, read the next element; if it is smaller than the root node, insert it as
the root of the
left subtree, and move to the next element.
o Otherwise, if the element is larger than the root node, then insert it as the
root of the right
subtree.
Now, let's see the process of creating the Binary search tree using the given data
element. The
process of creating the BST is shown below -
Step 1 - Insert 45
Advantages of Binary search tree

 Searching an element in the Binary search tree is easy as we

always have a hint that which subtree has the desired element.
 As compared to array and linked lists, insertion and deletion
operations are faster in BST.

Example of creating a Binary Search Tree (BST)

Now, let's see the creation of binary search tree using an example.

Suppose the data elements are - 45, 15, 79, 90, 10, 55, 12, 20, 50

 First, we have to insert 45 into the tree as the root of the tree.
 Then, read the next element; if it is smaller than the root node, insert it
as the root of the left subtree, and move to the next element.

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 Otherwise, if the element is larger than the root node, then insert it as
the root of the right subtree.

Now, let's see the process of creating the Binary search tree using the given data
element. The process of creating the BST is shown below –

Step 1 - Insert 45

Step 2 - Insert 15.

As 15 is smaller than 45,
so insert it as the root
node of the left subtree
Step 2 - Insert 15.

As 15 is smaller than 45, so insert it as the root node of the left subtree.

Step 3 - Insert 79.

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As 79 is greater than 45, so insert it as the root node of the right subtree

Step 4 - Insert 90.

90 is greater than 45 and 79, so it will be inserted as the right subtree of 79.

Step 5 - Insert 10.

10 is smaller than 45 and 15, so it will be inserted as a left subtree of 15.

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Step 6 - Insert 55.

55 is larger than 45 and smaller than 79, so it will be inserted as the left subtree of
79.

Step 7 - Insert 12

12 is smaller than 45 and 15 but greater than 10, so it will be inserted as the right
subtree of 10.

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Step 8 - Insert 20.

20 is smaller than 45 but greater than 15, so it will be inserted as the right subtree
of 15.

Step 9 - Insert 50.

50 is greater than 45 but smaller than 79 and 55. So, it will be inserted as a left
subtree of 55.

Now, the creation of binary search tree is completed. After that, let's move
towards the operations that can be performed on Binary search tree.

We can perform insert, delete and search operations on the binary search tree.

Let's understand how a search is performed on a binary search tree.

 Searching in Binary search tree (BST)

Searching means to find or locate a specific element or node in a data structure. In

Binary search tree, searching a node is easy because elements in BST are stored in

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a specific order. The steps of searching a node in Binary Search tree are listed as
follows –

1. First, compare the element to be searched with the root element of the tree.

2. If root is matched with the target element, then return the node's location.

3. If it is not matched, then check whether the item is less than the root
element, if it is smaller than the root element, then move to the left subtree.

4. If it is larger than the root element, then move to the right subtree.

5. Repeat the above procedure recursively until the match is found.

6. If the element is not found or not present in the tree, then return NULL.

Now, let's understand the searching in binary tree using an example.

We are taking the binary search tree formed above. Suppose we have to find node
20 from the below tree.

Step 1:

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Step 2:

Step 3:

Now, let's see the algorithm to search an element in the Binary search tree.

Now let's understand how the deletion is performed on a binary search tree. We
will also see an example to delete an element from the given tree.

 Deletion in Binary Search tree(BST)

In a binary search tree, we must delete a node from the tree by keeping in mind
that the property of BST is not violated. To delete a node from BST, there are three
possible situations occur –

o The node to be deleted is the leaf node, or,

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o The node to be deleted has only one child, and,

o The node to be deleted has two children

We will understand the situations listed above in detail.

When the node to be deleted is the leaf node

It is the simplest case to delete a node in BST. Here, we have to replace the leaf
node with NULL and simply free the allocated space.

We can see the process to delete a leaf node from BST in the below
image. In below image, suppose we have to delete node 90, as the node to be
deleted is a leaf node, so it will be replaced with NULL, and the allocated space
will free.

When the node to be deleted has only one child

In this case, we have to replace the target node (Deleting node) with its child, and
then delete the child node. It means that after replacing the target node with its
child node, the child node will now contain the value to be deleted. So, we simply
have to replace the child node with NULL and free up the allocated space.

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We can see the process of deleting a node with one child from BST in the below
image.

In the below image, suppose we have to delete the node 79, as the node to be
deleted has only one child, so it will be replaced with its child 55.

So, the replaced node 79 will now be a leaf node that can be easily deleted.

When the node to be deleted has two children

This case of deleting a node in BST is a bit complex among other two cases. In
such a case, the steps to be followed are listed as follows –

 First, find the inorder successor of the node to be deleted.

 After that, replace that node with the inorder successor until the target node
is placed at the leaf of tree.
 And at last, replace the node with NULL and free up the allocated space.

The inorder successor is required when the right child of the node is not empty.
We can obtain the inorder successor by finding the minimum element in the
right child of the node.

We can see the process of deleting a node with two children from BST in the
below image. In the below image, suppose we have to delete node 45 that is the
root node, as the node to be deleted has two children, so it will be replaced with its
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inorder successor. Now, node 45 will be at the leaf of the tree so that it can be
deleted easily.

Now let's understand how insertion is performed on a binary search tree.

Insertion in Binary Search tree(BST)

A new key in BST is always inserted at the leaf. To insert an element in BST, we
have to start searching from the root node; if the node to be inserted is less than the
root node, then search for an empty location in the left subtree. Else, search for the
empty location in the right subtree and insert the data. Insert in BST is similar to
searching, as we always have to maintain the rule that the left subtree is smaller
than the root, and right subtree is larger than the root.

Now, let's see the process of inserting a node into BST using an example.

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