eenknoopboom

Een eenknoopboom, also known as a single-node tree, is a fundamental concept in computer science, particularly in data structures and algorithms. It refers to a tree structure consisting of only one node. This single node serves as both the root and the leaf of the tree. While seemingly simple, the concept of a single-node tree is crucial for understanding more complex tree operations and algorithms.

In many tree-based data structures, such as binary search trees or heaps, the base case for recursive operations often involves a single node. For instance, when inserting an element into an empty tree, the result is a single-node tree. Similarly, searching for an element in a tree might return a single node if it's the only one present. The properties of a single-node tree are well-defined: it has a depth of zero and a height of zero. It contains one element and has no children. The existence and handling of this simplest tree form are essential for the correctness and termination of many tree algorithms.