← Glossary
What does "traverse" mean in programming?
traverse 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
To visit each node in a tree or graph data structure. Common traversal strategies include depth-first search (DFS) and breadth-first search (BFS).
Example
"Traverse the AST to find all function declarations in the source file."
Word forms
| Form | Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| traverse | verb (infinitive) | To visit every node of a tree or graph | "Traverse the DOM tree to find all matching elements." |
| traversed | past tense | Visited every node | "The algorithm traversed the graph in depth-first order." |
| traversing | gerund | Visiting every node | "Traversing a deeply nested object is a common interview problem." |
Related terms
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