The optimal binary search tree for Andersson's search algorithm

Andersson [1] presented a search algorithm for binary search trees that uses only two-way key comparisons by deferring equality comparisons until the leaves are reached. The use of a different search algorithm means that the optimal tree for the traditional search algorithm, which has been shown to be computable inO(n2) time by Knuth [3], is not optimal with respect to the different search algorithm. This paper shows that the optimal binary search tree for Andersson's search algorithm can be computed inO(nlogn) time using existing algorithms for the special case of zero successful access frequencies, such as the Hu-Tucker algorithm [2].