Binary Tree Serialization and Deserialization

hardcodingAlgorithmsTreesDesign~40 min

Asked at Meta, Google, Stripe

Overview

Design an algorithm to serialize a binary tree into a string and deserialize that string back into the original tree. The serialization format is up to you — the only requirement is that deserialize(serialize(root)) produces a structurally identical tree.

Constraints

The tree can have 0 to 5,000 nodes.
Node values are integers in range [-1000, 1000].
serialize must return a string.
deserialize must accept that string and return the root node.
null root should serialize and deserialize correctly.

Examples

// Tree:
//       1
//      / \
//     2   3
//        / \
//       4   5

const tree = { val: 1, left: { val: 2, left: null, right: null }, right: { val: 3, left: { val: 4, left: null, right: null }, right: { val: 5, left: null, right: null } } };

const str = serialize(tree);
deserialize(str);
// => structurally identical tree

serialize(null);   // some string representation
deserialize(serialize(null)); // => null

Solution

Reveal solution

function serialize(root) {
  const parts = [];
  function dfs(node) {
    if (node === null) { parts.push("N"); return; }
    parts.push(String(node.val));
    dfs(node.left);
    dfs(node.right);
  }
  dfs(root);
  return parts.join(",");
}

function deserialize(data) {
  const tokens = data.split(",");
  let i = 0;
  function dfs() {
    if (tokens[i] === "N") { i++; return null; }
    const node = { val: Number(tokens[i]), left: null, right: null };
    i++;
    node.left = dfs();
    node.right = dfs();
    return node;
  }
  return dfs();
}

Resources

binary-tree-serialization.js

Binary Tree Serialization and Deserialization

hardcodingAlgorithmsTrees

Overview

Design an algorithm to serialize a binary tree into a string and deserialize that string back into the original tree. The serialization format is up to you — the only requirement is that deserialize(serialize(root)) produces a structurally identical tree.

Constraints

The tree can have 0 to 5,000 nodes.
Node values are integers in range [-1000, 1000].
serialize must return a string.
deserialize must accept that string and return the root node.
null root should serialize and deserialize correctly.

Examples

// Tree:
//       1
//      / \
//     2   3
//        / \
//       4   5

const tree = { val: 1, left: { val: 2, left: null, right: null }, right: { val: 3, left: { val: 4, left: null, right: null }, right: { val: 5, left: null, right: null } } };

const str = serialize(tree);
deserialize(str);
// => structurally identical tree

serialize(null);   // some string representation
deserialize(serialize(null)); // => null

Solution

Reveal solution

function serialize(root) {
  const parts = [];
  function dfs(node) {
    if (node === null) { parts.push("N"); return; }
    parts.push(String(node.val));
    dfs(node.left);
    dfs(node.right);
  }
  dfs(root);
  return parts.join(",");
}

function deserialize(data) {
  const tokens = data.split(",");
  let i = 0;
  function dfs() {
    if (tokens[i] === "N") { i++; return null; }
    const node = { val: Number(tokens[i]), left: null, right: null };
    i++;
    node.left = dfs();
    node.right = dfs();
    return node;
  }
  return dfs();
}

Resources

NameTopicDifficulty

Add BinaryAlgorithmseasy Balanced Binary TreeAlgorithmseasy Balanced BracketsAlgorithmseasy Binary SearchAlgorithmseasy Binary Search Tree Lowest Common AncestorAlgorithmseasy Binary Tree Maximum DepthAlgorithmseasy Binary Tree SubtreeAlgorithmseasy Bit CountingAlgorithmseasy Bit ReversalAlgorithmseasy Count Set Bits in a Binary NumberAlgorithmseasy Diameter of Binary TreeAlgorithmseasy Find Duplicates in ArrayAlgorithmseasy First Bad VersionAlgorithmseasy Flip Binary TreeAlgorithmseasy Flood FillAlgorithmseasy Linked List Detect CycleAlgorithmseasy Linked List ReversalAlgorithmseasy Linked Lists Combine Two SortedAlgorithmseasy Longest PalindromeAlgorithmseasy Middle of the Linked ListAlgorithmseasy Most Common ElementsAlgorithmseasy Optimal Stock TradingAlgorithmseasy Pair SumAlgorithmseasy Ransom NoteAlgorithmseasy Staircase Climbing CombinationsAlgorithmseasy String AnagramAlgorithmseasy String PalindromeAlgorithmseasy 01 MatrixAlgorithmsmedium Accounts MergeAlgorithmsmedium Array Product Excluding CurrentAlgorithmsmedium Binary Search Tree Kth Smallest ElementAlgorithmsmedium Binary Tree Level Order TraversalAlgorithmsmedium Binary Tree Rebuilding from Preorder and Inorder TraversalsAlgorithmsmedium Binary Tree Right Side ViewAlgorithmsmedium Combinations for Target SumAlgorithmsmedium Count Islands in a GridAlgorithmsmedium Course DependencyAlgorithmsmedium Decode MessageAlgorithmsmedium Disjoint IntervalsAlgorithmsmedium Distinct Paths in GridAlgorithmsmedium Evaluate Reverse Polish NotationAlgorithmsmedium Find All Anagrams in a StringAlgorithmsmedium Find Element in Rotated ArrayAlgorithmsmedium Find the Longest Palindromic SubstringAlgorithmsmedium Find Word in GridAlgorithmsmedium Graph CloneAlgorithmsmedium Graph Count Connected ComponentsAlgorithmsmedium Is the Graph a TreeAlgorithmsmedium K Closest Points to OriginAlgorithmsmedium Letter Combinations of a Phone NumberAlgorithmsmedium Longest Increasing SubsequenceAlgorithmsmedium Longest Non-repeating SubstringAlgorithmsmedium Longest Repeating Substring After ReplacementsAlgorithmsmedium Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary TreeAlgorithmsmedium Matrix RotationAlgorithmsmedium Matrix Spiral TraversalAlgorithmsmedium Matrix ZeroingAlgorithmsmedium Maximum Sum in Contiguous ArrayAlgorithmsmedium Maximum Water Trapped Between WallsAlgorithmsmedium Merge New IntervalAlgorithmsmedium Merge Overlapping IntervalsAlgorithmsmedium Minimum Coins for ChangeAlgorithmsmedium Minimum Height TreesAlgorithmsmedium Palindromic SubstringsAlgorithmsmedium Partition Equal Subset SumAlgorithmsmedium PermutationsAlgorithmsmedium Rotting OrangesAlgorithmsmedium Segment WordsAlgorithmsmedium Sort ColorsAlgorithmsmedium String Anagram GroupsAlgorithmsmedium String to Integer (atoi)Algorithmsmedium SubsetsAlgorithmsmedium Sum Without AdditionAlgorithmsmedium Task CoordinationAlgorithmsmedium Trie (Prefix Tree)Algorithmsmedium Triplet SumAlgorithmsmedium Validate Binary Search TreeAlgorithmsmedium Basic CalculatorAlgorithmshard Binary Tree EqualAlgorithmshard Binary Tree Maximum Total PathAlgorithmshard Delete Nth Node from End of Linked ListAlgorithmshard End of Array ReachableAlgorithmshard Extraterrestrial LanguageAlgorithmshard Find Missing Number in SequenceAlgorithmshard Find Words in GridAlgorithmshard Largest Rectangle in HistogramAlgorithmshard Linked Lists Combine K SortedAlgorithmshard Longest Common SubsequenceAlgorithmshard Longest Consecutive Number SequenceAlgorithmshard Maximum Product in Contiguous ArrayAlgorithmshard Maximum Profit in Job SchedulingAlgorithmshard Meeting CalendarAlgorithmshard Minimum Meeting Rooms NeededAlgorithmshard Neighborhood TheftAlgorithmshard Neighborhood Theft (Circular)Algorithmshard Number Stream MedianAlgorithmshard Ocean FlowAlgorithmshard Rearrange Linked ListAlgorithmshard Shortest Substring Containing CharactersAlgorithmshard Smallest Element in Rotated Sorted ArrayAlgorithmshard Trapping Rain WaterAlgorithmshard Word FinderAlgorithmshard Word LadderAlgorithmshard

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