TREES

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Trees

Generic Tree

A Tree

UNIX directory

Organizational Chart
 Trees: Mathematical Definition
Definition:
A tree T is a finite, non-empty set of nodes ,

=  ∪
 ∪
 …
,
with the following properties:
1. A designated node of the set, r, is called the root of the
tree; and
2. The remaining nodes are partitioned into
≥ 0
subsets,
 ,
 , …
, each of which is a tree
Trees: Mathematical Definition
Trees: Example

A minimal tree

Comprised of a single node

A




Trees: Example

When there is more than one node, the remaining
nodes are partitioned into subtrees.



 = {, {}}
Trees: Example

When there is more than one node, the remaining
nodes are partitioned into subtrees.

 = {, ,  , {, ,  , ,  ,  ,  }}
Trees: Terminology

Given a tree
= ,
 ,
 …
,
≥ 0

The degree of a node is the number of subtrees
associated with that node. For example, the degree of
tree T is n

A node of degree zero has no subtrees. Such a node is
called a leaf .

Each root  of subtree
 of tree T is called a child of r.
The term grandchild is defined in a similar manner.
Trees: Terminology

Given a tree
= ,
 ,
 …
,
≥ 0

The root node r of tree T is the parent of all the

roots  of the subtrees
 , 1 < " <
. The
term grandparent is defined in a similar manner.

Two roots  and # of distinct subtrees
 and
# of
tree T are called siblings .
Trees: Definition

Path and Path length
Given a tree T containing the set of nodes R, a
path in T is defined as a non-empty sequence of nodes
$ =  ,  , … % ,
Where  ∈ ', for 1 ≤ " ≤ ) such that the " *+ node in
the sequence,  , is the parent of the (" + 1)*+ node in
the sequence / .

Length of path P is k-1 (the number of edges).

Trees: Definition

The level or depth of a node  ∈ ' in a tree T is
the length of the unique path in T from its root r to
the node  .

The height of a node  ∈ ' in a tree T is the length
of the longest path from node  to a leaf.

The height of a tree T is the height of its root node r.
Trees: Definition

Consider two nodes  and # in a tree T. The node 
is an ancestor of the node # if there exist a path in T
from  to # .

A node is its own ancestor

Proper ancestor – if the length of the path is non-
zero
Trees: Definition

Node # is a descendant of the node  if there exist
a path in T from  to # .

A node is its own descendant

Proper descendant – if the length of the path is non-
zero
Question!

How many paths are there in tree
 ?
Trees: Applications

Directory structure in many common operating
systems
Binary Tree

Representation of a binary tree, T. Each node x has fields

p[x] (top), left[x] (lower left), and right[x] (lower right). The
key fields are not shown.
Binary Tree
Definition:
A binary tree T is a finite set of nodes with the
following properties:
1. Either the set is empty,
= ∅; or
2. The set consists of a root, , and exactly two distinct
binary trees
1 and
2 ,
= {,
1 ,
2 }.
The tree
1 is the left subtree of T
The tree
2 is the right subtree of T
Binary Tree:
- Generic Binary Tree
Binary Tree
- Depth of an average binary tree is considerably
smaller than N
- Average depth is Ο( 4)
- Binary search tree: Average depth is Ο(log 4)
Binary Tree: Worst case
- However, depth can be as large as N-1 as shown
Tree Traversal

An algorithm that systematically visits all the items in
a tree

Methods :
1. depth-first traversal
 Preorder
 Inorder
 Postorder
2. breadth-first traversal
Trees

A Depth = 0
B D Depth = 1

C E H Depth = 2

F G I Depth = 3

A sample tree
Depth-first traversal

Preorder Traversal
1. Visit the root first; then
2. Do a preorder traversal each of the subtrees of the
root one-by-one in the order given.

In case the tree is a binary tree

1. Visit the root first;
2. traverse the left subtree;
3. traverse the right subtree.
Depth-first traversal

Pre order traversal?
A
B D

C E H

F G I
Pre order: 8, , , , , , , , 
Depth-first traversal

Postorder Traversal

Visit the root last
1. Do a postorder traversal each of the subtrees of the root
one-by-one in the order given;
2. visit the root

In case the tree is a binary tree
1. Traverse the left subtree;
2. traverse the right subtree;
3. visit the root.
Depth-first traversal

Post order traversal?
A
B D

C E H

F G I
Postorder: , , , , , , , , 8
Depth-first traversal

Inorder Traversal

visits the root in between visiting the left and right
subtrees

1. Traverse the left subtree;

2. visit the root;
3. traverse the right subtree.
Depth-first traversal

Inorder traversal?
A
B D

C E H

F G I
Inorder: , , 8, , , , , , 
Breadth-First Traversal

a non-recursive traversal.

visits the nodes in the order of their depth in the
tree

At each depth the nodes are visited from left to
right
Breadth-First Traversal

A
B D

C E H

F G I

Breadth-first: 8, , , , , , , , 
Expression Trees

Leaves are operands (variables/constants)

Other nodes are operators

Expression tree for (a + b * c) + ((d * e + f ) * g)

Constructing Expression Trees

Read expression one symbol at a time

If the symbol is an operand, create a one-node tree
and push it onto a stack

If symbol is an operator, pop two trees,
 and

from the stack (
 is popped first), and form a new
tree whose root is the operator and whose left and
right children are
 and
 , respectively.

Push new tree onto the stack
Constructing Expression Trees

Example: ab+cde+**

Read two operands
Constructing Expression Trees

Example: ab+cde+**

+ is read, so two trees are popped, a new tree is
formed, and it is pushed onto the stack.
Constructing Expression Trees

Example: ab+cde+**

c, d, and e are read, and for each a one-node tree
is created and the corresponding tree is pushed
onto the stack.
Constructing Expression Trees

Example: ab+cde+**

+ is read, so two trees are merged
Constructing Expression Trees

Example: ab+cde+**

* is read, so we pop two trees and form a new tree
with a * as root
Constructing Expression Trees

Example: ab+cde+**

Finally