What Is a Search Tree?

The ternary search tree is an implementation of a trie tree or a prefix tree. The structure between the nodes of the tree is similar to a binary search tree. Like other prefix trees, ternary search trees can be used to implement associative arrays with a prefix search function. The ternary search number is more space-saving than the standard prefix tree, but sacrifices part of the search speed. Ternary search trees are often used to implement spell checking and auto-completion functions.