Finding an Optimal Tree Searching Strategy in Linear Time

Authors: Shay Mozes, Krzysztof Onak, Oren Weimann
Conference: The 19th Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (SODA 2008).

Abstract: We address the extension of the binary search technique from sorted arrays and totally ordered sets to trees and tree-like partially ordered sets. As in the sorted array case, the goal is to minimize the number of queries required to find a target element in the worst case. However, while the optimal strategy for searching an array is straightforward (always query the middle element), the optimal strategy for searching a tree is dependent on the tree's structure and is harder to compute. We present an $O(n)$-time algorithm that finds the optimal strategy for binary searching a tree. This improves the previous best $O(n^3)$-time algorithm. The significant improvement is due to a novel approach for computing subproblems, as well as a method for reusing parts of already computed subproblems, and a linear-time transformation from a solution in the form of an edge-weighed tree into a solution in the form of a decision tree.

Paper: [PDF] [PS]
BibTeX: [DBLP]