What characterizes a binary search tree?

A binary search tree (BST) is characterized by a specific structure and rules governing the placement of its nodes. Each node in a binary search tree has at most two children: a left child and a right child. The critical characteristic that distinguishes a BST is that the value of the left child must be less than the value of its parent node, while the value of the right child must be greater than or equal to the value of its parent node. This property makes binary search trees efficient for searching, inserting, and deleting elements since it allows for a systematic way to discard half of the tree during search operations.

This organization ensures that for any given subtree, all nodes in the left subtree will contain values less than the parent node, and all nodes in the right subtree will contain values greater than or equal to that node. This arrangement is crucial for maintaining the sorted order of elements, facilitating quick search times and efficient in-order traversals that produce a sorted list of values.

Other options such as nodes being organized randomly or the allowance for unlimited children do not apply to binary search trees. Additionally, while all nodes are sorted, this sorting is not limited to data type alone; it specifically relates to the positioning of nodes based on their values relative to their parent