This paper is a study of persistence in data structures. Ordinary data structures are ephemeral in the sense that a change to the structure destroys the old version, leaving only the new version available for use. In contrast, a persistent structure allows access to any version, old or new, at any time. We develop simple, systematic, and effiient techniques for making linked data structures persistent. We use our techniques to devise persistent forms of binary search trees with logarithmic access, insertion, and deletion times and O(1) space bounds for insertion and deletion.

ABSTRACT. We consider algorithms for preprocessing labelled lists and trees so that, for any two nodes u and v we can answer queries of the form: What is the mode or median label in the sequence of labels on the path from u to v. 1

We consider algorithms for preprocessing labelled lists and trees so that, for any two nodes u and v we can answer queries of the form: What is the mode or median label in the sequence of labels on the path from u to v.