Using Nodes

Nodes define the hierarchical relationship within the tree. Nodes can be either categories (as in a group of assets) or items that need to be placed in a relationship with other items, such as an item in a catalog.

Each detail value reports to a tree node at the next higher level of the organization. Each tree node represents the group of detail values that report to it. Referring to the node is a shorthand way of referring to the group of detail values under it. For example, if a report refers to the Office of the President, it includes data from all the detail values under the Office of the President node — including the detail values under the Human Resources department, because Human Resources reports to the Office of the President.

In turn, each tree node reports to another tree node at a higher level of organization until you reach the top level of the hierarchy, called the root node.

Family Tree Terminology

Terminology derived from the idea of a family tree is used when talking about trees. The nodes that report to the root node are called its children. They are also called child nodes. The root node is their parent. Nodes that have the same parent are called siblings.