The Main Idea Of implementing A Binary Tree

Published on September 21st, 2022

Did you know? The binary tree concept was first derived from the C programming language.

The main purpose of creating a Binary Tree is to facilitate the tracking of data in a simplified and easy manner.

How you may ask? Well, by figuring out the LCA of Binary Tree you can trace the ancestry of any given node in a Binary Tree. This blog mentions the main idea behind implementing a Binary Tree.

Also, while the concept of Binary Tree is certainly most popular in the C programming language, we have yet another important concept that the C developers must be familiar with. i.e Zero sum subarrays.

Find a brief discussion on how to check if the sum of a subarray is equal to 0 by the end of the blog.

What Is The Main Idea For Implementing A Binary Tree?

Programmes and algorithms constitute nothing more than searching, writing and deletion of a program on a constant basis until it attains the desired output.

Every node in a Binary Tree structure will branch out to the children node or nodes. This makes it easier to track the ancestors of the whole hierarchical structure.

Now, the main purpose of implementing the Binary Tree data structure is to keep track of the important information in order to have read access whenever required.

There is also the factor of obtaining information correspondingly from the hierarchical data structure by obtaining the form of queues, stacks and trees.

In order to analyse this idea in depth we need to comprehend the following operations of the Binary Tree:

Definition Of The Binary Tree

Binary Tree is a composition of nodes which further branch in the form of children nodes. The limit for branching out of any specific node in a Binary Tree is two.

This essentially means that every parent node in a Binary Tree is allowed to have a maximum of two nodes and a minimum of one node, but it can never be empty.

Formation Of A Binary Tree

The main purpose for forming teb structure of a Binary Tree is to define the characteristics of a one chain table. But figuratively speaking, since the Binary Tree branches out into two forming the children nodes we cannot refer to it as a one chain table. Hence, the structure of the nodes is only known as a chain table.

1. Data Addition To A Binary Tree

The procedure for adding information or data to a Binary Tree is by starting from the root node i.e the very first node of the tree.

The nodes can further proceed in the left or the right directions, forming the left children node or the right children node.

2. Counting The Number Of Nodes In A Binary Tree

In order to traverse the hierarchical structure of a Binary Tree, we can apply the recursion method to obtain the computation.

The recursion method in other terms can be explained as repeatedly following different methods in order to derive the required output.

3. Calculating The Depth Of The Binary Tree

The maximum level of the root node of a Binary Tree essentially determines its depth. As long as we have a left or a right subtree within the structure we will add a level to the subtree.

This calculation can continue till the end of the Binary Tree and the terminology used to describe the process of this calculation is known as recursion.

4. Traversing The Binary Tree

There are four different methods that can be employed for traversing the Binary Tree. While the first three of them use the recursion method, the last one is quite troublesome.

Preorder traversal- In order to imply this method you will have to visit the root of the tree and consecutive visit the left and the right sections of the sub tree.

Postorder traversal- This is completely the opposite of the preorder traversal- Here the left and the right subtrees are traversed prior to visiting the root of the tree.

Inorder traversal- For this method the developer has to first traverse the left part of the subtree, followed by visiting the root and finishing up with traversing the right part of the subtree.

Level order traversal- This method relies on creating a queue cache for the Binary Tree which is also depicted by the first-in, first-out function.

With that we have covered the main reason for implementing a Binary Tree and how you can traverse along the tree’s hierarchy using different approaches and methods.

From our perspective, using the recursion method is both easier and an effective manner for producing results.

The concept of Binary Tree is incomplete without discussing the Zero sum subarrays. Take a look at this brief definition.

What Are The Zero Sum Subarrays?

The problem statement related to finding the zero sum in a subarray is facilitated by using the recursion method.

This is why we mentioned that the zero sum subarrays are indirectly correlated with the concept of Binary Trees.

In order to figure out whether a given sub array will produce the result as 0, you will have to consider all the possible solutions for the problem statement and approach the method which derives the answer the fastest.

The elements of the subarray can also be arranged in a hash table as an alternate method for deriving the results. Although this method is more complex, at the same time you will certainly agree that the recursion method is thorough and precise.

Final Thoughts

The concept of Binary Trees in programming and data structure articulate the value of storing data in an efficient and hierarchical order.

In order to traverse this hierarchical structure, it is important to consider the lca of a Binary Tree i.e its lowest common ancestor. Tracking this node will always lead to the root of the tree.

For this, the programmers usually employ the recursion method which is also used in the context of deriving results for the zero sum subarrays.

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