Flatten Binary Tree to Linked List — LeetCode 114 Python Solution

The problem

Given the root of a binary tree, flatten the tree into a "linked list": The "linked list" should use the same TreeNode class where the right child pointer points to the next node in the list and the left child pointer is always null. The "linked list" should be in the same order as a pre-order traversal of the binary tree.

Example

Input

root = [1,2,5,3,4,null,6]

Output

[1,null,2,null,3,null,4,null,5,null,6]

Python solution

# Definition for a binary tree node.
# class TreeNode:
#     def __init__(self, val=0, left=None, right=None):
#         self.val = val
#         self.left = left
#         self.right = right
class Solution:
    def flatten(self, root: Optional[TreeNode]) -> None:
        """
        Do not return anything, modify root in-place instead.
        """
        while root:
            if root.left:
                pre = root.left
                while pre.right:
                    pre = pre.right
                pre.right = root.right
                root.right = root.left
                root.left = None
            root = root.right

Complexity

Pattern: Linked List

Rewire pointers in place, with a dummy head and a saved next to keep it safe. LeetCode 114. Flatten Binary Tree to Linked List is filed here because LeetCode tags it Linked List, which is the vocabulary this hub collects.

The linked list guide has the Python template for the pattern and the 75 LeetCode problems that use it.

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