Ternary Tree

Why Trust Techopedia

What Does Ternary Tree Mean?

In computer science, a ternary tree is a type of tree data structure where each node can have up to three derivative nodes. This is in contrast to a binary tree, where each node can have either one or two derivative nodes.

Advertisements

Techopedia Explains Ternary Tree

In a tree data structure, algorithm experts often use the names “parent” and “child” nodes to describe elements of the tree that derive from each other. In a ternary tree, the parent node can have up to three child nodes, which are often labeled as the “left,” “middle” and “right” node, respectively. Certain types of metadata may reside in these derivative nodes.

Because the ternary tree is a more sophisticated model than a binary tree, it can be more suitable for some types of ordered searches and other operations. A ternary structure can also be used for a data heap or for filtering data for some algorithmic operation.

Advertisements

Related Terms

Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.