rightChild

rightChild refers to the reference or pointer to the right child node of a given node in a binary tree. In typical binary tree implementations, each node maintains two child references: leftChild and rightChild. The rightChild points to the subtree that contains nodes located on the right side of the parent node. If no right child exists, rightChild is usually null (or equivalent in non-pointer languages).

In many data structures, rightChild is used alongside leftChild to organize hierarchical data. In binary search trees, the right subtree under a node generally contains values greater than the node’s key, though exact handling of duplicates may vary by implementation. The rightChild subtree is traversed and manipulated as part of common tree operations such as insertion, deletion, and lookup.

Common tree traversals incorporate rightChild as a fundamental link. In-order traversal visits leftChild, the node itself, and then rightChild. Pre-order visits the node, then leftChild, then rightChild. Post-order visits leftChild, rightChild, and then the node. These patterns rely on the existence and order of rightChild to access all nodes in the tree.

Implementation notes can vary by language. In languages with manual memory management, care is needed to manage the rightChild pointer during node deletion to avoid leaks or dangling references. In languages with automatic garbage collection, nulling or reassigning references is typically sufficient. In some specialized trees, such as threaded binary trees, rightChild can also serve as a thread to an inorder successor when a right child is absent.

See also: leftChild, binary tree, binary search tree, tree traversals.