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Grokking the Coding Interview Patterns in JavaScript

Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree

Explore the process of serializing a binary tree into a list of integers and deserializing it back into the original tree structure. Understand how to handle tree nodes within given constraints and implement the solution in JavaScript to ensure the deserialized tree matches the original.

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Statement

Serialize a given binary tree to a file and deserialize it back to a tree. Make sure that the original and the deserialized trees are identical.

  • Serialize: Write the tree to a file.

  • Deserialize: Read from a file and reconstruct the tree in memory.

Serialize the tree into a list of integers, and then, deserialize it back from the list to a tree. For simplicity’s sake, there’s no need to write the list to the files.

Constraints:

  • The number of nodes in the tree is in the range [0,500][0, 500].
  • −1000≤-1000 \leq Node.value ≤1000\leq 1000

Examples

canvasAnimation-image
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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:

Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree

1.

What is the serialized output of this tree using level order traversal?

          __ 350 
	     |
	  __ 75 ______ 
	 |            |
	 25 _     ___ 200 
	     |   |
	     50  100
A.

[350, 75, 25, 50, 200, 100]

B.

[350, 75, 25, 200, 50, 100]

C.

[25, 50, 75, 100, 200, 350]

D.

[50, 25, 100, 200, 75, 350]

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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.

Sequence - Vertical
Drag and drop the cards to re-arrange them in the correct sequence
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Try it yourself

Implement your solution in serialize_deserialize.js in the following coding playground.

JavaScript
usercode > serialize_deserialize.js
// Definition of a binary tree node
// class TreeNode {
//   constructor(data) {
//     this.data = data;
//     this.left = null;
//     this.right = null;
//   }
// }
import {TreeNode} from './ds_v1/BinaryTree.js';
// Function to serialize tree into list of integers.
export function serialize(root) {
    
    // Replace this placeholder return statement with your code
    return root;
}
// Function to deserialize integer list into a binary tree.
export function deserialize(stream) {
    
    // Replace this placeholder return statement with your code
    return null;
}
Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree