| 摘要 |
<p>Nodes in a tree data structure are associated with respective node keys. At least some of the nodes are associated with at least one respective node rank. The structure is searched to attempt to identify a preferred prefix-matching node on the basis of attempting to find a prefix-matching node that has a prefix match with a search key and which has a preferred node rank relative to a node rank associated with a node which may have a longer prefix match. If the prefix-matching node is identified, a dependent node rank identifier associated with the prefix-matching node is used to determine that the prefix-matching node has the preferred node rank. The dependent node rank identifier indicates at least a node rank of a node which may have a longer prefix match than the prefix-matching node. The prefix-matching node is selected, if identified, as a preferred prefix-matching node.</p> |
