< algorithm > A multi-way balanced tree .
The "B" in B-tree has never been officially defined. It could stand for "balanced" or "Bayer", after one of the original designers of the algorithms and structure. A B-tree is _not_ (necessarily?) a " binary tree ".
A B+-tree (as used by IBM 's VSAM ) is a B-tree where the leaves are also linked sequentially, thus allowing both fast random access and sequential access to data.
[Knuth's Art of Computer Programming].
[Example algorithm?]
(2000-01-10)