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B-tree Variants

B-tree–Based Data Structures

TypeDescriptionKey CharacteristicTypical Use CaseAccess PatternMemory BehaviorNotes
B-treeMulti-way balanced search treeAll leaves at same levelDatabases, filesystemsLogarithmicNode-basedDisk-friendly
B+ TreeData only in leavesLinked leaf nodesDatabase indexingLogarithmicNode-basedFast range queries
B* TreeOptimized B+ treeHigher node utilizationLarge indexesLogarithmicNode-basedFewer splits
2–3 TreeNodes have 2 or 3 childrenStrict balanceEducational useLogarithmicNode-basedSimple B-tree
2–3–4 TreeNodes have up to 4 childrenRed-black equivalentTeaching, indexesLogarithmicNode-basedAlways balanced
Dancing TreeAdaptive B-treeDynamic restructuringResearch systemsLogarithmicNode-basedRarely implemented
QueapQueue + heap hybridSupports min queriesSliding windowAmortized logNode-basedSpecialized use
Fusion TreeWord-level parallelismSub-logarithmic searchTheoretical CSO(log n / log w)Node-basedComplex to implement
Bx-treeB-tree for moving objectsTime-parameterized keysSpatial databasesLogarithmicNode-basedHandles motion