Skip to main content

Randomized search trees

Algorithmica volume 16, pages 464–497 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

We present a randomized strategy for maintaining balance in dynamically changing search trees that has optimalexpected behavior. In particular, in the expected case a search or an update takes logarithmic time, with the update requiring fewer than two rotations. Moreover, the update time remains logarithmic, even if the cost of a rotation is taken to be proportional to the size of the rotated subtree. Finger searches and splits and joins can be performed in optimal expected time also. We show that these results continue to hold even if very little true randomness is available, i.e., if only a logarithmic number of truely random bits are available. Our approach generalizes naturally to weighted trees, where the expected time bounds for accesses and updates again match the worst-case time bounds of the best deterministic methods.

We also discuss ways of implementing our randomized strategy so that no explicit balance information is maintained. Our balancing strategy and our algorithms are exceedingly simple and should be fast in practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. G. M. Adel'son-Velskii and Y. M. Landis, An algorithm for the organization of information,Soviet Math. Dokl,3 (1962), 1259–1262.

    Google Scholar 

  2. A. Andersson and T. Ottmann, Faster uniquely represented dictionaries,Proc. 32nd FOCS, 1991, pp. 642–649.

  3. H. Baumgarten, H. Jung, and K. Mehlhorn, Dynamic point location in general subdivision,Proc. 3rd ACM-SIAM Symp. on Discrete Algorithms (SODA), 1992, pp. 250–258.

  4. R. Bayer and E. McCreight, Organization and maintenance of large ordered indices,Act. Inf.,1 (1972), 173–189.

    Google Scholar 

  5. S. W. Bent and J. R. Driscoll, Randomly balanced search trees, Manuscript (1991).

  6. S. W. Bent, D. D. Sleator, and R. E. Tarjan, Biased search trees,SIAM J. Comput.,14 (1985), 545–568.

    Google Scholar 

  7. R. P. Brent, Fast multiple precision evaluation of elementary functions,J. Assoc. Comput. Mach.,23 (1976), 242–251.

    Google Scholar 

  8. M. Brown, Addendum to “A Storage Scheme for Height-Balanced Trees,”Inform. Process. Lett.,8 (1979), 154–156.

    Google Scholar 

  9. K. L. Clarkson, K. Mehlhorn, and R. Seidel, Four results on randomized incremental construction,Comput. Geom. Theory Appl.,3 (1993), 185–212.

    Google Scholar 

  10. L. Devroye, A note on the height of binary search trees,J. Assoc. Comput. Mach.,33 (1986), 489–498.

    Google Scholar 

  11. M. Dietzfelbinger (private communication).

  12. I. Galperin and R. L. Rivest, Scapegoat trees,Proc. 4th ACM-SIAM Symp. on Discrete Algorithms (SODA), 1993, pp. 165–174.

  13. L. J. Guibas and R. Sedgewick, A dichromatic framework for balanced trees,Proc. 19th FOCS, 1978, pp. 8–21.

  14. T. Hagerup and C. Rüb, A guided tour of Chernoff bounds,Inform. Process. Lett.,33 (1989/90), 305–308.

    Google Scholar 

  15. K. Hoffman, K. Mehlhorn, P. Rosenstiehl, and R. E. Tarjan, Sorting Jordan sequences in linear time using level linked search trees,Inform. and Control,68 (1986), 170–184.

    Google Scholar 

  16. E. McCreight, Priority search trees,SIAM J. Comput.,14 (1985), 257–276.

    Google Scholar 

  17. K. Mehlhorn,Sorting and Searching, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  18. K. Mehlhorn,Multi-Dimensional Searching and Computational Geometry, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  19. K. Mehlhorn (private communication).

  20. K. Mehlhorn and S. Näher, Algorithm design and software libraries: recent developments in the LEDA project, inAlgorithms, Software, Architectures, Information Processing 92, Vol. 1, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  21. K. Mehlhorn and S. Näher, LEDA, a platform for combinatorial and geometric computing.Commun. ACM,38 (1995), 95–102.

    Google Scholar 

  22. K. Mehlhorn and R. Raman (private communication).

  23. K. Mulmuley,Computational Geometry: An Introduction through Randomized Algorithms, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  24. S. Näher, LEDA User Manual Version 3.0. Tech. Report MPI-I-93-109, Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik, Saarbrücken, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  25. J. Nievergelt and E. M. Reingold, Binary search trees of bounded balance,SIAM J. Comput. 2 (1973), 33–43.

    Google Scholar 

  26. W. Pugh, Skip lists: a probabilistic alternative to balanced trees.Commun. ACM,33 (1990), 668–676.

    Google Scholar 

  27. W. Pugh and T. Teitelbaum, Incremental computation via function caching,Proc. 16th ACM POPL, 1989, pp. 315–328.

  28. D. D. Sleator (private communication).

  29. D. D. Sleator and R. E. Tarjan, Self-adjusting binary search trees,J. Assoc. Comput. Mach.,32 (1985), 652–686.

    Google Scholar 

  30. R. E. Tarjan (private communication).

  31. J. Vuillemin, A unifying look at data structures,Comm. ACM,23 (1980), 229–239.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science Division, University of California Berkeley, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA

    R. Seidel

  2. Fachberich Informatik, Universität des Saarlandes, D-66123, Saarbrucken, Germany

    R. Seidel

  3. Computer Science Division, University of California Berkeley, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA

    C. R. Aragon

Authors
  1. R. Seidel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. R. Aragon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Gene Lawler.

Supported by NSF Presidential Young Investigator award CCR-9058440.

Supported by an AT&T graduate fellowship.

Communicated by M. Luby.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Seidel, R., Aragon, C.R. Randomized search trees. Algorithmica 16, 464–497 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01940876

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01940876

Key words

  • Search trees
  • Dictionaries
  • Randomized data structures