Connect All Siblings of a Binary Tree
Explore how to connect all sibling nodes in a perfect binary tree using the next pointer to link nodes from left to right. Understand the optimal BFS approach that runs in linear time and constant space complexity, helping you master tree traversal patterns for coding interviews.
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Statement
Given the root of a next, connect all nodes from left to right. Do so in such a way that the next pointer of each node points to its immediate right sibling except for the rightmost node, which points to the first node of the next level.
The next pointer of the last node of the binary tree (i.e., the rightmost node of the last level) should be set to NULL.
Constraints:
The number of nodes in the tree is in the range
. Node.data
Examples
Understand the problem
Let’s take a moment to make sure you’ve correctly understood the problem. The quiz below helps you check if you’re solving the correct problem:
Connect All Siblings of a Binary Tree
Which node will the next pointer of node be pointing toward after connecting all the siblings in the given tree?
_______ 1 _______
| |
__ 2 _ __ 3__
| | | |
_4_ _ 5 _ - 6 - --7--
| | | | | | | |
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
6
4
11
5
Figure it out!
We have a game for you to play. Rearrange the logical building blocks to develop a clearer understanding of how to solve this problem.
Note: As an additional challenge, we have intentionally hidden the solution to this puzzle.
Try it yourself
Implement your solution in main.go in the following coding playground. You’ll need the provided supporting code to implement your solution.
We have left the solution to this challenge as an exercise for you. The optimal solution to this problem runs in O(n) time and takes O(1) space. You may try to translate the logic of the solved puzzle into a coded solution.
package mainfunc connectAllSiblings(root *EduBinaryTreeNode[int]) *EduBinaryTreeNode[int]{// Replace this placeholder return statement with your codereturn root}