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Tree Traversal Techniques

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PRANAV TIWARI
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26 views10 pages

Tree Traversal Techniques

Uploaded by

PRANAV TIWARI
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Tree Traversal Techniques

Tree traversal is a fundamental algorithm used in computer science to systematically visit all the nodes in a
tree data structure. Understanding tree traversal is essential for various applications like searching, sorting,
and navigating hierarchical data.

by PRANAV TIWARI
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Depth-First Search (DFS)


1 Step 1: Explore Deeply
DFS starts at the root node and explores as far as possible along
each branch before backtracking. It uses a stack to keep track of
the nodes to be visited.

2 Step 2: Backtracking
When a branch is fully explored, DFS backtracks to the previous
node and explores the next unexplored branch.

3 Step 3: Recursive Approach


DFS is commonly implemented using recursion, where each
node calls itself on its unvisited children.
Breadth-First Search (BFS)
1 Step 1: Level-by-Level Exploration
BFS explores the tree level by level, visiting all nodes at a given
depth before moving to the next level.

2 Step 2: Queue Data Structure


BFS uses a queue to store the nodes to be visited. Nodes at the
current level are processed before moving to the next level.

3 Step 3: Finding Shortest Paths


BFS is useful for finding the shortest path between two nodes in
a graph or tree.
In-Order Traversal
Visit Left Subtree
Begin by visiting the left subtree of the current
node recursively.

Visit Current Node


Visit the current node itself.

Visit Right Subtree


Visit the right subtree of the current node
recursively.
Pre-Order Traversal
Visit Current Node
Visit the current node itself.

Visit Left Subtree


Visit the left subtree of the current node recursively.

Visit Right Subtree


Visit the right subtree of the current node
recursively.
Post-Order Traversal
Visit Left Subtree
Visit the left subtree of the current node recursively.

Visit Right Subtree


Visit the right subtree of the current node
recursively.

Visit Current Node


Visit the current node itself.
Advantages and Disadvantages
DFS Advantages DFS Disadvantages BFS Advantages BFS Disadvantages

Efficient for searching May not find the Finds the shortest Less efficient for deep
large trees. Suitable shortest path. Can path. Less memory trees. Not suitable for
for finding paths. consume a lot of consumption. all search problems.
memory.
Applications of Tree Traversal
1 File Systems
Navigating and organizing files and directories in hierarchical structures.

2 Game AI
AI agents use tree traversal to plan moves and make decisions.

3 Compiler Design
Parsing and analyzing program code to generate executable programs.

4 Database Queries
Optimizing and executing queries to retrieve data efficiently.
Implementing Tree Traversal in Code
Recursive Implementation Iterative Implementation
Using recursion, each node calls itself on its Using a stack or queue, an iterative approach
unvisited children. This method is elegant and manually explores nodes and maintains the
concise, but can be stack-intensive. order of visits. This method can be more
memory-efficient.
Conclusion and Summary
Tree traversal is a fundamental algorithm with numerous applications in computer science. Understanding the
different techniques allows you to choose the most appropriate method for your specific use case. By
mastering tree traversal, you gain a crucial tool for navigating and manipulating hierarchical data structures.

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