Validate Binary Search Tree
Problem
Given the
rootof a binary tree, determine if it is a valid binary search tree (BST).A valid BST is defined as follows:
The left subtree of a node contains only nodes with keys less than the node's key.
The right subtree of a node contains only nodes with keys greater than the node's key.
Both the left and right subtrees must also be binary search trees.
Example 1:
Input: root = [2,1,3] Output: trueExample 2:
Input: root = [5,1,4,null,null,3,6] Output: false Explanation: The root node's value is 5 but its right child's value is 4.
Pseudocode
- use properties of BST to validate that left and right child are following rulesSolution
var isValidBST = function (root) {
  function walk(root, minVal, maxVal) {
    // base condition
    if (!root) {
      return true;
    }
    // pre
    if (root.val <= minVal || root.val >= maxVal) {
      return false;
    }
    // recurse
    // left node can't be larger than parent node
    // right node must be larger than parent node
    return (
      walk(root.left, minVal, root.val) && walk(root.right, root.val, maxVal)
    );
    // post
  }
  return walk(root, -Infinity, Infinity);
};
Time and Space Complexity
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