Dynamic Programming:optimal Binary search tree and Huffman

Question

Is it possible to construct an optimal Binary search tree (OBST) via a greedy algorithm instead of with Dynamic Programming (DP) (for example Huffman's algorithm)? If so why is DP is preferred in the construction of a OBST?

Answer 1

There are no efficient greedy algorithms to always construct an optimal binary search tree. However there are likely to be heuristics such as greedy algorithms that construct nearly optimal trees, which may be preferable in practice.