What is the difference between a binary tree and a binary search tree?

What is the difference between a binary tree and a binary search tree?

A binary tree is a tree data structure where each node has at most two children. A binary search tree (BST) is a type of binary tree that maintains a specific order: for any given node, the left child contains only nodes with values less than the node's value, and the right child contains only nodes with values greater.

Can you give me an example of a binary search tree?

Sure! Consider the following values: 7, 3, 9, 1, 5. The BST would look like this:

    7
   / \
  3   9
 / \
1   5

Here, 7 is the root, 3 is the left child, and 9 is the right child.

What are the advantages of using a binary search tree?

Binary search trees allow for efficient searching, insertion, and deletion operations, typically in O(log n) time, making them faster than unsorted binary trees.

Are there any disadvantages to using binary search trees?

Yes, if a BST becomes unbalanced, its performance can degrade to O(n) for operations. To mitigate this, self-balancing trees like AVL or Red-Black trees are used.