{"id":"btree-leaf-sibling-patched-on-remove","text":"When an empty leaf is removed during deletion, `_delete` patches the previous sibling's `next_sibling` pointer to splice the empty leaf out of the linked list used by `range_scan` and `__iter__`","truth_value":"IN","source":"entries/2026/05/28/b-tree-storage-engine-btree-_delete.md","source_url":"","source_hash":"","justifications":[],"dependents":["btree-sibling-chain-maintained-across-mutations"],"metadata":{},"created_at":"","updated_at":"","reviewed_at":"","verified_at":"","retracted_at":"","explanation":{"steps":[{"node":"btree-leaf-sibling-patched-on-remove","truth_value":"IN","reason":"premise"}]}}