How does a binary search tree skip several nodes when searching?
By following one branch, it skips one subtree every time the decision for one branch is made. A subtree can be anything from a single node to all nodes except one.
What are self-balancing trees?
Trees that use some kind of logic to (roughly) equalize the number of nodes in each subtree. This ensures that all tree algorithms work at the best possible efficiency.
Why is balance in a tree important?
If a tree is skewed, any algorithm operating on it will encounter an uneven amount of work depending on the subtree it works on. The mismatch is the assumption that every branch of the tree leads to the same amount of work (for example, the same number of comparisons to make), which is what makes the tree data structure efficient.
Is a heap a binary tree?
Yes. Each node has two children.
What are good use cases...