Trim a Binary Search Tree — LeetCode 669 Python Solution

The problem

Given the root of a binary search tree and the lowest and highest boundaries as low and high, trim the tree so that all its elements lies in [low, high]. Trimming the tree should not change the relative structure of the elements that will remain in the tree (i.e., any node's descendant should remain a descendant).

Example

Input

root = [1,0,2], low = 1, high = 2

Output

[1,null,2]

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 trimBST(
        self, root: Optional[TreeNode], low: int, high: int
    ) -> Optional[TreeNode]:
        def dfs(root):
            if root is None:
                return root
            if root.val > high:
                return dfs(root.left)
            if root.val < low:
                return dfs(root.right)
            root.left = dfs(root.left)
            root.right = dfs(root.right)
            return root

        return dfs(root)

Complexity

Pattern: Tree Traversal

Choose the order — preorder, inorder, postorder, level — and the problem solves itself. LeetCode 669. Trim a Binary Search Tree is filed here because LeetCode tags it Tree, Binary Tree and Binary Search Tree, which is the vocabulary this hub collects.

The tree traversal guide has the Python template for the pattern and the 225 LeetCode problems that use it.

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