Tree Data Structure: Types, Properties, and

Applications
Anshuman Singh
Senior Execut ive - Cont ent
Updated on Jul 15, 2024 14:27 IST
Have you ever wondered how computers organize complex data efficiently?
One answer lies in the tree data structure, a hierarchical model that
resembles a tree in nature, with a single root leading to various branches
and leaves, enabling quick data retrieval and manipulation. Let's understand
more!

A data structure is a way of organizing, storing, and managing data to be used

efficiently. Data structures are an important part of several computer algorithms and
programs. They help programmers in designing efficient software. Data structures
are used in all computer science domains, such as Artif icial Intelligence and
Operating systems . In this article, you will learn about one of the most popular
non-linear data structures – Trees. This post will explore the different types of tree
data structures, their properties, and the application of trees in the data

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structure.

Table of Content
What is Tree in Data Structure?

Tree Data Structure Terminologies

Types of Trees

Binary Trees
Binary Search Trees

AVL Trees
B-Tree

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Before I dive deep into the technicality of the topic, observe the below two diagrams
representing members of the family and answer the question as follows:

In the relation mentioned above if ‘A’ is the grandfather of ‘F’, and ‘C’ is the uncle of
‘D’. Which of the above diagrams would you choose to answer,

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 Who is the f ather of ‘E’?

What is the relation between D and E?

From the second diagram, looking at the hierarchy, you can easily say that ‘B’ is
the f ather of ‘E’, and D is E’s sibling.
It was difficult to guess with the first representation of data. Well, the same is the
case with computers. When the data is stored in a hierarchical form, it’s quicker for
the computer to traverse it and find the results.

Explore: What is Queue in Data Structure?

What is a Tree in Data Structure?

A tree data structure is a collection of nodes connected by edges.
Each node contains a value or data which may or may not have a child node. The
first node of the tree is called the root . If this root node is connected with another
node, then this root is called the parent node , and the node connected to it is the
child node .
When operations are performed in a linear data structure, the complexity rises as
the data size increases. On the other hand, the tree data structure provides much
quicker access to the data, which is non-linear. Let’s understand some of the
terminologies associated with it.

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Tree Data Structure Terminologies
Example f rom
Terminology Description
Diagram
‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’ are the
Node Each vertex of a tree is a node.
node in the tree.
Node ‘1’ is the
Root Topmost node of a tree. topmost root
node.

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 Node ‘2’ is the
parent of ‘5’ and
The node has an edge-sharing to a
Parent Node ‘6’, and Node ‘3’
child node.
is the parent of
‘7’.
The sub-node of a parent node is the ‘5’ and ‘6’ is the
Child Node
child node. children of ‘2’.
The last node which have any ‘5’, ‘6’, ‘9’ and ‘8’
Leaf
subnode is the leaf node. are leaf nodes.
The link
between ‘1’ and
Edge Connecting link between two nodes. ‘2’, ‘2’ and ‘5’, ‘2’
and ‘6’ are
edges
‘5’ and ‘6’ are
Nodes with the same parent are
Siblings siblings with ‘2’
siblings.
as their parent.
The height of a tree is the length of
The height of ‘1’
the longest path f rom the root to a
Height is 3. (longest
leaf node. It is calculated with the
path is 1-3-7-9)
total number of edges.
The number of edges f rom the root
The depth of
node to that node is called the Depth
root node ‘1’ is
Depth of that node.
the height of ‘1’
Depth of a tree = Height of tree –
–1=2
1

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 Each step f rom top to bottom is ‘1’ or root node
called a Level. If the root node is at is at level 0, ‘2’,
Level level 0, its next child node is at level ‘3’, and ‘4’ is at
1, its grandchild is at level 2, and so level 1, and so
on. on.
Nodes ‘2’, ‘5’,
Descendants of a node represent a and ‘6’
Sub-Tree
subtree. represent a sub-
tree.
The degree of
Degree of The degree of a node represents the ‘2’ is 2 (‘5’ and
Node total number of children in it. ‘6’). The degree
of ‘4’ is 1.

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Application of Tree Data Structure

File system:
The files and folders in your Windows Explorer are stored in the tree format. In the
below image, you can say that ‘My Computer’ is the root; Local Disk (C), Local Disk
(D), and Local Disk (E) are basically the parent nodes and the files inside them are
leaf nodes. This allows faster traversal of the nodes while jumping from one node to
another.

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Webpage Layout
The layout of a webpage is designed in the tree structure. In the below diagram, the
homepage or index page is our root node, main sections/ site index are their child
nodes, which again are parents to multiple other child nodes (subsections).

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 Int roduct ion t o Linked List Dat a St ruct ure
In this article, yo u will understand what linked list are, what are vario us
o peratio ns yo u can perfo rm o n them and ho w to implement it in C.

Underst anding Time Complexit y in Dat a St ruct ure

Ever wo ndered why so me apps run lightning-fast while o thers lag with just a bit
mo re data? Dive into the mesmerizing wo rld o f time co mplexity, the secret
sauce behind efficient algo rithms...re ad m o re

Circular Queue in dat a st ruct ure

This article includes wo rking o f Circular Queue in data structure and also
implementatio n o f circular queue in pytho n and java.

Types of Tree Data Structure

The following are the different types of tree data structures:

Binary Tree

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 Binary Search Tree (BST)
AVL Tree

B-Tree

Binary Tree
A binary tree is a tree data structure in which each node can have 0, 1, or 2 children
– left and right child.

Properties of a Binary tree

The maximum number of nodes at any level ‘L’ in a binary tree is 2
The minimum number of nodes in a binary tree of height H is H + 1

The maximum number of nodes in a binary tree of height H is 2H+1 – 1

Total Number of leaf nodes in a Binary Tree = Total Number of nodes
with two children + 1

The maximum number of nodes at each level of i is 2i.

Searching operation takes O(log2N)
Binary trees can be divided into the following types:

Perf ect binary tree: Every internal node has two child nodes. All the

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 leaf nodes are at the same level.
Full binary tree: Every parent node or an internal node has either
exactly two children or no child nodes.

Complete binary tree: All levels except the last one are f ull of
nodes.

Degenerate binary tree: All the internal nodes have only one child.

Balanced binary tree: The lef t and right trees dif f er by either 0 or 1.
To learn more about binary trees, read our blog – Types of Binary Tree
in Data Structure

Applications of Binary trees

Decision Tree – Machine learning Algorithm
A supervised learning algorithm is used both in the case of a classification or
regression-based problem. It starts with a root node and ends with a decision or
prediction made by leaves. All the nodes in the tree represent a condition based on
which the split occurs.

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 Working with Morse Code
The organization of Morse code is done in the form of a binary tree

Binary Expression Trees

A binary tree is used to evaluate an expression. The operators are stored at the
interior node and the operands are stored at the leaf node.

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Courses

Binary Search Tree (BST)

A binary search tree (BST) is also called an ordered or sorted binary tree in which the

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value at the left sub-tree is lesser than that of the root and the right subtree has a
value greater than that of the root.

Every binary search tree is a binary tree. However, not every binary tree is a binary
search tree. What’s the difference between a binary tree and a binary search tree?
The most important difference between the two is that in a BST, the left child
node’s value must be less than the parent’s, while the right child node’s value must
be higher.

Properties of a Binary Search tree

Each node has a maximum of up to two children.

The value of all the nodes in the lef t sub-tree is less than the value of
the root.

The value of all the nodes in the right subtree is greater than or equal
to the value of the root.
This rule is recursively valid f or all the lef t and right subtrees of the
root.

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Applications of a Binary Search Tree
Used to ef f iciently store data in the sorted f orm to quickly access
and search stored elements.

Given ‘A’ a sorted array, determine how many times x occurs in ‘A’.
Player ‘A’ chooses a secret number ‘n’. Player ‘B’ can guess a number
x and A replies how x

compares to n (equal, larger, smaller). What’s an ef f icient strategy

f or B to guess ‘n’?

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AVL Tree
AVL trees are a special kind of self-balancing binary search tree where the height of
every node’s left and right subtree differs by at most one.

Properties of an AVL tree

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 The heights of the two child subtrees of any node dif f er by at most
one.

Balance Factor = (Height of Lef t Subtree – Height of Right Subtree).

-1 Balance f actor represents that the right subtree is one level higher
than the lef t.

0 Balance f actor represents that the height of the lef t subtree is

equal to that of the right subtree.
1 Balance f actor means that the lef t subtree is one level higher than
the right subtree.

The maximum possible number of nodes in the AVL tree of height H is

2H+1 – 1
The minimum number of nodes in the AVL Tree of height H is given by
a recursive relation: N(H) = N(H-1) + N(H-2) + 1

Minimum possible height of AVL Tree using N nodes = log2N i.e

f loor value of log 2N

The maximum height of the AVL Tree using N nodes is calculated

using recursive relation: N(H) = N(H-1) + N(H-2) + 1

Applications of AVL trees

In-memory sorts of sets and dictionaries
Database applications that require f requent lookups f or data

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Algorithms

B-Tree
B tree is a self-balancing search tree wherein each node can contain more than one

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key and more than two children. It is a special type of m-way tree and a generalized
binary search tree. B-tree can store many keys in a single node and can have
multiple child nodes. This reduces the height and enables faster disk access.

Properties of a B-Tree
Every node contains at most m children.
Every node contains at least m/2 children (except the root node and
the leaf node).

The root nodes should have a minimum of 2 nodes.

All leaf nodes should be at the same level.

Application of B-trees
Databases and f ile systems
Multilevel indexing

For quick access to the actual data stored on the disks

To store blocks of data

Also Read: Top Data Structure Interview Questions [DS and

Algorthims]

Conclusion
Data structures are the building block of programming languages. They are used in
many areas of Computer Science for simple and complex computations. Good
knowledge of Tree data structures is the foundation of writing good codes. It
can help you to grow to new heights in your career and secure high-paying jobs in
the programming world.

Read: 8 Most Important Data Structures Every Programmer Must

Know

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FAQs

What are tree data structures used f or?

What are Tournament trees in data structure?

What is a Splay tree in data structure?

What is a Treap data structure?

What is a spanning tree in data structure? What are its applications?

How did tree data structure got its name?

What are the basic components of a tree?

What are the properties of a binary search tree (BST)?

What are some applications of tree data structures?

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