Articles on: Algorithms

Decission Tree

A decision tree is a type of machine learning algorithm used for classification and regression tasks. It works by recursively partitioning the input data into subsets based on the values of the input features. The algorithm begins at the root of the tree, where it evaluates a test condition based on the input feature values. Based on the outcome of this test, the algorithm moves to one of the child nodes of the root, where another test is performed, and so on, until a leaf node is reached. The leaf node represents a final decision or prediction based on the path of test conditions traversed through the tree. The main goal of the decision tree algorithm is to build a model that accurately predicts the target variable by learning simple decision rules inferred from the data features.



Decision trees are one of the simple and popular algorithms. However, you need to keep in mind some of its main advantages and disadvantages it creates to make sure it is an ideal model for your problem.

Advantages of decision trees include:

They are easy to understand and interpret, as the final decision tree model can be visualized and easily explained to non-technical audiences.

They can handle both categorical and numerical data, and can also handle missing data.

They require little data preparation, and are able to handle high dimensional data with many features.

They are resistant to outliers and can handle large amounts of data.

They can be used for both classification and regression tasks.


Disadvantages of decision trees include:

They can easily overfit the training data, particularly when the tree becomes too deep and complex.

They are sensitive to small changes in the data, which can result in a different decision tree being generated.

They can be computationally expensive, particularly when working with large datasets.

They tend to bias towards attributes with more levels

Updated on: 27/01/2023

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