Leetcode 235 & 236. Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary (Search) Tree

Given a binary search tree (BST), find the lowest common ancestor (LCA) of two given nodes in the BST.

According to the definition of LCA on Wikipedia: “The lowest common ancestor is defined between two nodes v and w as the lowest node in T that has both v and w as descendants (where we allow a node to be a descendant of itself).”

        _______6______
       /              \
    ___2__          ___8__
   /      \        /      \
   0      _4       7       9
         /  \
         3   5

For example, the lowest common ancestor (LCA) of nodes 2 and 8 is 6. Another example is LCA of nodes 2 and 4 is 2, since a node can be a descendant of itself according to the LCA definition.

Analysis:

Check for the properties of the BST. If root.val > both p.val and q.val, we know the lca is in the left side, then goto the left subtree. If root.val < both p.val & q.val, then go to right subtree. Otherwise, return root.

Time complexity: O(logn)

Space complexity: O(1)

Code is below:

/**
 * Definition for a binary tree node.
 * public class TreeNode {
 *     int val;
 *     TreeNode left;
 *     TreeNode right;
 *     TreeNode(int x) { val = x; }
 * }
 */
public class Solution {
    public TreeNode lowestCommonAncestor(TreeNode root, TreeNode p, TreeNode q) {
        // O(logn)
        
        if (root == null || p == null || q == null) {
            return null;
        }
        
        if (root.val > p.val && root.val > q.val) {
            // left sub tree
            return lowestCommonAncestor(root.left, p, q);
        } else if (root.val < p.val && root.val < q.val) {
            // right sub tree
            return lowestCommonAncestor(root.right, p, q);
        } else {
            return root;
        }
    }
}

Followup:

Given a binary tree, find the lowest common ancestor (LCA) of two given nodes in the tree.

According to the definition of LCA on Wikipedia: “The lowest common ancestor is defined between two nodes v and w as the lowest node in T that has both v and w as descendants (where we allow a node to be a descendant of itself).”

        _______3______
       /              \
    ___5__          ___1__
   /      \        /      \
   6      _2       0       8
         /  \
         7   4

For example, the lowest common ancestor (LCA) of nodes 5 and 1 is 3. Another example is LCA of nodes 5 and 4 is 5, since a node can be a descendant of itself according to the LCA definition.

Analysis:

No properties similar to BST. We can use divide and conquer. Divide the tree to be the left and right. If left & right not null, return root. If left not null, return left, otherwise return right.

Time complexity: O(n)

Space complexity: O(1)

Code is below:

/**
 * Definition for a binary tree node.
 * public class TreeNode {
 *     int val;
 *     TreeNode left;
 *     TreeNode right;
 *     TreeNode(int x) { val = x; }
 * }
 */
public class Solution {
    public TreeNode lowestCommonAncestor(TreeNode root, TreeNode p, TreeNode q) {
        // O(n)
        
        if (root == null || root == p || root == q) {
            return root;
        }
        
        // divide: get the left and right lca
        TreeNode left = lowestCommonAncestor(root.left, p, q);
        TreeNode right = lowestCommonAncestor(root.right, p, q);
        
        // conquer: check for the left and right
        // If left and right both exits, then return root
        if (left != null && right != null) {
            return root;
        }
        
        if (left != null) {
            return left;
        }
        
        if (right != null) {
            return right;
        }
        
        return null;
    }
}