The tree at both the encoder and decoder consists of a single node, the NYT node. Therefore, the codeword for the very first symbol that appears is a previously agreed-upon fixed code. After the very first symbol, whenever we have to encode a symbol that is being encountered for the first time, we send the code for the NYT node, followed by the previously agreed-upon fixed code for the symbol. The code for the NYT node is obtained by traversing the Huffman tree from the root to the NYT node. This alerts the receiver to the fact that the symbol whose code follows does not as yet have a node in the Huffman tree. If a symbol to be encoded has a corresponding node in the tree, then the code for the symbol is generated by traversing the tree from the root to the external node corresponding to the symbol.
