{"id":4807,"date":"2017-02-07T11:11:55","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T11:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/binary-search-tree\/"},"modified":"2017-02-07T11:11:55","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T11:11:55","slug":"binary-search-tree","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst","title":{"rendered":"Binary Search Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does Binary Search Tree Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A binary search tree is a particular type of data container storing values that can provide for efficient search. The \u201ctree\u201d separates into two identifiers, left and right, and recursive splitting creates the whole sub-structure of the data container.\n<\/p>\n

Techopedia Explains Binary Search Tree<\/span><\/h2>\n

In addition to its basic structure, where the original \u201ctrunk\u201d of the binary tree splits in two, there are other data protocols associated with the binary search tree structure. One is that the key values on the two nodes of a split are stores so that the \u201cleft\u201d key is less than the original, and the \u201cright\u201d key is more. Binary search trees also have other properties that are explained by data scientists and other professionals, for example, the interesting nature of the \u201cleaf\u201d or end node, which typically does not hold a value. Binary structures like the binary search tree can be used to decrease effort in search, because the data structure holds data in a sorted archive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Does Binary Search Tree Mean? A binary search tree is a particular type of data container storing values that can provide for efficient search. The \u201ctree\u201d separates into two identifiers, left and right, and recursive splitting creates the whole sub-structure of the data container. Techopedia Explains Binary Search Tree In addition to its basic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[244,216],"class_list":["post-4807","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-programming-languages","definitioncat-software-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a Binary Search Tree? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Binary Search Tree and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Binary Search Tree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Binary Search Tree and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Binary Search Tree\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-07T11:11:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst\"},\"wordCount\":172,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/6282\/binary-search-tree-bst\",\"name\":\"What is a Binary Search Tree? 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