C-Trie++: A dynamic trie tailored for fast prefix searches

Given a dynamic set K of k strings of total length n whose characters are drawn from an alphabet of size σ, a keyword dictionary is a data structure built on K that provides locate, prefix search, and update operations on K. Under the assumption that α = w / lg σ characters fit into a single machine word w, we propose a keyword dictionary that represents K in n lg σ + Θ(k lg n) bits of space, supporting all operations in Θ(m / α + lg α) expected time on an input string of length m in the word RAM model. This data structure is underlined with an exhaustive practical evaluation, highlighting the practical usefulness of the proposed data structure, especially for prefix searches - one of the most elementary keyword dictionary operations.