suffixels

Suffixels are a concept in theoretical computer science and formal language theory, particularly within the realm of string processing and pattern matching. They can be understood as the minimal suffixes of a string that are also prefixes of other strings within a given set. This idea is often employed in the construction and analysis of specialized data structures like suffix trees and suffix automata.

The core notion behind suffixels is to efficiently represent and query relationships between suffixes of strings. By identifying these common suffix-prefix overlaps, algorithms can avoid redundant computations and achieve faster performance. For instance, in building a suffix tree, suffixels help in determining where new characters should be added and how existing nodes should be linked.

While the term "suffixel" itself might not be universally standardized, the underlying principle of identifying minimal overlapping suffixes and prefixes is fundamental. It's closely related to concepts like Lyndon words and generalized suffix trees, where the goal is to capture the essential structural properties of a string or a collection of strings. Understanding suffixels can be crucial for researchers and practitioners working on advanced string algorithms, text indexing, and bioinformatics.