sift-down operation
A "sift-down operation" is a fundamental operation in the context of data structures, particularly heap data structures. It is used to restore the heap property after removing the root element in a max or min heap. In a max heap, the sift-down operation involves swapping the root element with its largest child (among the left and right child), ensuring that the larger element moves down the heap. This process continues recursively until the heap property is restored. Similarly, in a min heap, the sift-down operation swaps the root element with its smallest child, moving the smaller element down the heap until the heap property is satisfied again. The sift-down operation plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of heap-based data structures and is commonly used in various algorithms and applications that involve managing dynamically changing datasets efficiently.
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