835: Tree - Revision history

CalibansCreations: /* Explanation */

2025-03-25T08:54:01Z

‎Explanation

162.158.146.51: /* Explanation */

2024-05-30T01:54:11Z

‎Explanation

Waldir: +Category:Programming

2023-08-07T10:04:33Z

+Category:Programming

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Xray Kilo Charlie Delta: haha your js cant stop my js

2022-05-23T18:18:24Z

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Davidy22: Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Theusaf

2022-05-21T02:54:36Z

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 "Less than" in this case can refer to any comparison that can be made between two nodes - in this case, it's based on the size of the presents. Of course, there's a cost to all this; the heap must first be placed in that order. Not only that, but if a node gets removed from the heap, the heap has to be "rebuilt" to put it back in the right order. This is referenced in the title text - if Billy opens the root present, several comparisons must be done to shift other presents in its place to preserve the heap rule.
-In [[1308: Christmas Lights]] a similar strange Christmas tree has been constructed using the electromagnetic spectrum.
+In [[1308: Christmas Lights]] a similar strange Christmas tree has been constructed using the electromagnetic spectrum, which evidently received a far better reception in-universe.
 ==Transcript==

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 A binary tree is a tree where each node has spaces for exactly 2 children.
-The "Christmas tree" is a basic representation of a binary tree - the star at the top is the root node, and the lights running down indicate the connections between parent and child. Contrary to what the terms "root" and "leaf" might imply, trees in computer science are typically represented upside-down, with the root on top and the leaves fanning out below.
+The "Christmas tree" is a basic representation of a binary tree - the star at the top is the root node, and the lights running down indicate the connections between parent and child. Contrary to what the terms "root" and "leaf" might imply, trees in computer science are typically represented upside-down, with the root on top and the leaves fanning out below. This gives the tree a similar profile to the conical pine trees typically used as Christmas trees.
-The Christmas tree is constructed based on no apparent rules, but the main power of binary trees comes in organizing them according to specific rules. Because code that runs later can assume the data is organized in this specific way, it can use different algorithms that make things run faster. One way of doing this is with a heap. A {{w|Heap (data structure)|heap}} is a special kind of tree (usually a binary tree, but in this case a quaternary tree), subject to one additional rule:
+The Christmas tree is constructed based on no apparent rules, but the main power of data trees comes in organizing them according to specific rules. Because code that runs later can assume the data is organized in this specific way, it can use different algorithms that make things run faster. One way of doing this is with a heap. A {{w|Heap (data structure)|heap}} is a special kind of tree (usually a binary tree, but in this case a quaternary tree), subject to one additional rule:
 *For every node in the tree, ''everything'' beneath that node - both or all of its children, all of its children's children, all of ''their'' children, and so on - are "less than" the node itself.

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 [[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
 [[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
 [[Category:Puns]]