hierarchical data structure
Noun: A way of organizing information where items are arranged in levels, with each item (except the top one) being a subordinate of another item, forming a pattern that resembles a branching tree. This structure establishes clear parent-child relationships between data points.
This term is used to describe a specific method of data organization in computer science and information management. It indicates that data is not in a simple flat list but has ranks or tiers. - The file system on your computer uses a hierarchical data structure, with folders containing subfolders and files. - XML and JSON documents often represent information as a hierarchical data structure. - The company's organizational chart is a classic example of a hierarchical data structure.
- "to traverse a hierarchical data structure": to systematically visit and process each node in the tree-like arrangement.
- The algorithm needs to traverse the entire hierarchical data structure to find all relevant entries.
- "to flatten a hierarchical data structure": to convert the multi-level tree into a single-level list, often losing the parent-child relationships in the process.
- For the report, we had to flatten the hierarchical data structure into a simple table.
- Hierarchy (n): The system or organization of people or things arranged according to relative status or rank.
- The military operates on a strict hierarchy.
- Tree structure (n): A more general synonym often used interchangeably in computing to describe a hierarchical model.
- The data is best represented as a tree structure.
- Tree structure
- Arborescent structure
- Parent node: In a hierarchical data structure, a node that has one or more child nodes beneath it.
- Child node: In a hierarchical data structure, a node that has a parent node above it.
- Root node: The topmost node in a hierarchical data structure, which has no parent.
- Leaf node: A node in a hierarchical data structure that has no children.
- a structure of data having several levels arranged in a treelike structure