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Solution: Longest Path With Different Adjacent Characters

Explore how to compute the longest path in a rooted tree where no two adjacent nodes share the same character. Understand using in-degree calculation, queue processing of leaf nodes, and combining chains from children in a topological order. This lesson teaches an efficient O(n) time and space solution leveraging tree properties and character constraints to solve this common interview pattern.

Statement

You are given a rooted tree with nn nodes, numbered from 00 to n1n - 1, where the tree is connected, undirected, and has no cycles. The tree is represented by a 0-indexed array parent of size nn, where parent[i] is the parent of node ...