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What does "traversal" mean in programming?

traversal is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.

Definition

The process of visiting every node or element in a data structure in a systematic order. Common tree traversals are in-order, pre-order, and post-order. Graph traversals include BFS and DFS. Traversal is often used to search, transform, or print every element.

Example

"In-order traversal of a BST visits nodes in ascending order: left, root, right."

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