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Trees Comparison

Big Table

Tree Search Insert Delete Main Strength
Binary Tree O(n) O(n) O(n) Simple hierarchical structure
Threaded Binary Tree O(n) O(h) O(h) Easier traversal
BST O(log n) average, O(n) worst O(log n) average, O(n) worst O(log n) average, O(n) worst Ordered searching
AVL Tree O(log n) O(log n) O(log n) Guaranteed balance
B-Tree O(log n) O(log n) O(log n) Good for storage systems
B+ Tree O(log n) O(log n) O(log n) Excellent indexing and range scans

Easy Comparison

Binary Tree

  • simple
  • no search ordering rule

Threaded Binary Tree

  • traversal friendly
  • uses empty links cleverly

BST

  • faster than plain binary tree when balanced enough
  • can become skewed

AVL Tree

  • stricter balancing
  • very good search performance

B-Tree

  • short and wide tree
  • designed for disk access

B+ Tree

  • even better for database-style ordered searches
  • linked leaves help range queries