Which indexing method uses a balanced tree structure to store index entries?

The correct answer is B-tree.

Key Points

• A B-tree is a self-balancing tree data structure that maintains sorted data and allows efficient insertion, deletion, and search operations.
  • B-trees are widely used for indexing in databases because they ensure balanced tree height, resulting in consistent and fast access times.
  • The nodes of a B-tree contain key values and pointers to child nodes, allowing traversal to find the desired index entry.
  • The balanced nature of B-trees minimizes disk I/O operations during searches, making them ideal for large datasets stored on disk.
  • B-trees can dynamically adjust their structure as entries are added or removed, ensuring optimal performance and balance.
  • The structure of B-trees supports range queries efficiently, which is useful for database operations requiring sequential access.

Additional Information

• B-trees are a generalization of binary search trees, allowing nodes to have multiple children.
• They are used in various applications, including file systems, database management systems, and search engines.
• The branching factor of a B-tree determines how many children each node can have, which affects its overall height and performance.
• B+ trees, a variant of B-trees, store all keys in leaf nodes and are commonly used for database indexing.
• The balanced property of B-trees ensures logarithmic time complexity for search, insertion, and deletion operations.