\chapter{Tree algorithms} \index{tree} A \key{tree} is a connected, acyclic graph that consists of $n$ nodes and $n-1$ edges. Removing any edge from a tree divides it into two components, and adding any edge to a tree creates a cycle. Moreover, there is always a unique path between any two nodes of a tree. For example, the following tree consists of 7 nodes and 6 edges: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,3) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (0,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (2,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (4,1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-2,3) {$7$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-2,1) {$3$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} \index{leaf} The \key{leaves} of a tree are the nodes with degree 1, i.e., with only one neighbor. For example, the leaves of the above tree are nodes 3, 5, 6 and 7. \index{root} \index{rooted tree} In a \key{rooted} tree, one of the nodes is appointed the \key{root} of the tree, and all other nodes are placed underneath the root. For example, in the following tree, node 1 is the root of the tree. \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,1) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (-2,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (0,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (2,-1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-3,-1) {$3$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-1,-1) {$7$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} \index{child} \index{parent} In a rooted tree, the \key{children} of a node are its lower neighbors, and the \key{parent} of a node is its upper neighbor. Each node has exactly one parent, except for the root that does not have a parent. For example, in the above tree, the children of node 4 are nodes 3 and 7, and the parent is node 1. \index{subtree} The structure of a rooted tree is \emph{recursive}: each node of the tree acts as the root of a \key{subtree} that contains the node itself and all other nodes that can be reached by traversing down the tree. For example, in the above tree, the subtree of node 4 consists of nodes 4, 3 and 7. \section{Tree traversal} Depth-first search and breadth-first search can be used for traversing the nodes of a tree. The traversal of a tree is easier to implement than that of a general graph, because there are no cycles in the tree and it is not possible to reach a node from multiple directions. The typical way to traverse a tree is to start a depth-first search at an arbitrary node. The following recursive function can be used: \begin{lstlisting} void dfs(int s, int e) { // process node s for (auto u : adj[s]) { if (u != e) dfs(u, s); } } \end{lstlisting} The function parameters are the current node $s$ and the previous node $e$. The purpose of the parameter $e$ is to make sure that the search only moves to nodes that have not been visited yet. The following function call starts the search at node $x$: \begin{lstlisting} dfs(x, 0); \end{lstlisting} In the first call $e=0$, because there is no previous node, and it is allowed to proceed to any direction in the tree. \subsubsection{Dynamic programming} Dynamic programming can be used to calculate some information during a tree traversal. Using dynamic programming, we can, for example, calculate in $O(n)$ time for each node of a rooted tree the number of nodes in its subtree or the length of the longest path from the node to a leaf. As an example, let us calculate for each node $s$ a value $\texttt{count}[s]$: the number of nodes in its subtree. The subtree contains the node itself and all nodes in the subtrees of its children. Thus, we can calculate the number of nodes recursively using the following code: \begin{lstlisting} void dfs(int s, int e) { count[s] = 1; for (auto u : adj[s]) { if (u == e) continue; dfs(u, s); count[s] += count[u]; } } \end{lstlisting} \section{Diameter} \index{diameter} The \key{diameter} of a tree is the maximum length of a path between two nodes of the tree. For example, in the tree \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,3) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (0,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (2,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (4,1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-2,3) {$7$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-2,1) {$3$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} the diameter is 4, and it corresponds to two paths: the path between nodes 3 and 6, and the path between nodes 7 and 6. Next we will learn two efficient algorithms for calculating the diameter of a tree. Both algorithms calculate the diameter in $O(n)$ time. The first algorithm is based on dynamic programming, and the second algorithm uses two depth-first searches to calculate the diameter. \subsubsection{Algorithm 1} First, we root the tree arbitrarily. After this, we use dynamic programming to calculate for each node $x$ the maximum length of a path that begins at some leaf, ascends to $x$ and then descends to another leaf. The maximum length of such a path equals the diameter of the tree. In the example graph, a longest path begins at node 7, ascends to node 1, and then descends to node 6: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,1) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (-2,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (0,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (2,-1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-3,-1) {$3$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-1,-1) {$7$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (7) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (3) -- (1); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (2) -- (5); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} The algorithm first calculates for each node $x$ the maximum length of a path from $x$ to a leaf. For example, in the above tree, a longest path from node 1 to a leaf has length 2 (the path can be $1 \rightarrow 4 \rightarrow 3$, $1 \rightarrow 4 \rightarrow 7$ or $1 \rightarrow 2 \rightarrow 6$). After this, the algorithm calculates for each node $x$ the maximum length of a path where $x$ is the highest point of the path. Such a path can be found by choosing two children with longest paths to leaves. For example, in the above graph, nodes 2 and 4 yield a longest path for node 1. \subsubsection{Algorithm 2} Another efficient way to calculate the diameter of a tree is based on two depth-first searches. First, we choose an arbitrary node $a$ in the tree and find the farthest node $b$ from $a$. Then, we find the farthest node $c$ from $b$. The diameter of the tree is the distance between $b$ and $c$. In the example graph, $a$, $b$ and $c$ could be: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,3) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (0,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (2,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (4,1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-2,3) {$7$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-2,1) {$3$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \node[color=red] at (2,1.6) {$a$}; \node[color=red] at (-1.4,3) {$b$}; \node[color=red] at (4,1.6) {$c$}; \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (6) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (3) -- (1); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (2) -- (5); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} This is an elegant method, but why does it work? It helps to draw the tree differently so that the path that corresponds to the diameter is horizontal, and all other nodes hang from it: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (2,1) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (4,1) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (0,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (2,-1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (6,1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (0,-1) {$3$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-2,1) {$7$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \node[color=red] at (2,-1.6) {$a$}; \node[color=red] at (-2,1.6) {$b$}; \node[color=red] at (6,1.6) {$c$}; \node[color=red] at (2,1.6) {$x$}; \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (7) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (3) -- (1); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (2) -- (5); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} Node $x$ indicates the place where the path from node $a$ joins the path that corresponds to the diameter. The farthest node from $a$ is node $b$, node $c$ or some other node that is at least as far from node $x$. Thus, this node is always a valid choice for a starting node of a path that corresponds to the diameter. \section{Distances between nodes} A more difficult problem is to calculate for each node of the tree and for each direction, the maximum distance to a node in that direction. It turns out that this can be calculated in $O(n)$ time using dynamic programming. \begin{samepage} In the example graph, the distances are as follows: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,3) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (0,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (2,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (4,1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-2,3) {$7$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-2,1) {$3$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \node[color=red] at (0.5,3.2) {$2$}; \node[color=red] at (0.3,2.4) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (-0.2,2.4) {$2$}; \node[color=red] at (-0.2,1.5) {$3$}; \node[color=red] at (-0.5,1.2) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (-1.7,2.4) {$4$}; \node[color=red] at (-0.5,0.8) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (-1.5,0.8) {$4$}; \node[color=red] at (1.5,3.2) {$3$}; \node[color=red] at (1.5,1.2) {$3$}; \node[color=red] at (3.5,1.2) {$4$}; \node[color=red] at (2.2,2.4) {$1$}; \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} \end{samepage} For example, the farthest node from node 4 in the direction of node 1 is node 6, and the distance to that node is 3 using the path $4 \rightarrow 1 \rightarrow 2 \rightarrow 6$. \begin{samepage} Also in this problem, a good starting point is to root the tree. After this, all distances to leaves can be calculated using dynamic programming: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,1) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (-2,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (0,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (2,-1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-3,-1) {$3$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-1,-1) {$7$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \node[color=red] at (-2.5,0.7) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (-1.5,0.7) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (2.2,0.5) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (-0.5,2.8) {$2$}; \node[color=red] at (0.2,2.5) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (0.5,2.8) {$2$}; \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} \end{samepage} The remaining task is to calculate the distances through parents. This can be done by traversing the tree once again and keeping track of the largest distance from the parent of the current node to some other node in another direction. For example, the distance from node 2 upwards is one larger than the distance from node 1 downwards in some other direction than node 2: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,1) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (-2,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (0,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (2,-1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-3,-1) {$3$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-1,-1) {$7$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-,color=red,line width=2pt] (3) -- (7); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} Finally, we can calculate the distances for all nodes and all directions: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,3) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (2,1) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (-2,1) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (0,1) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (2,-1) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-3,-1) {$3$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (-1,-1) {$7$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \node[color=red] at (-2.5,0.7) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (-1.5,0.7) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (2.2,0.5) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (-0.5,2.8) {$2$}; \node[color=red] at (0.2,2.5) {$1$}; \node[color=red] at (0.5,2.8) {$2$}; \node[color=red] at (-3,-0.4) {$4$}; \node[color=red] at (-1,-0.4) {$4$}; \node[color=red] at (-2,1.6) {$3$}; \node[color=red] at (2,1.6) {$3$}; \node[color=red] at (2.2,-0.4) {$4$}; \node[color=red] at (0.2,1.6) {$3$}; \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} \section{Binary trees} \index{binary tree} \begin{samepage} A \key{binary tree} is a rooted tree where each node has a left and right subtree. It is possible that a subtree of a node is empty. Thus, every node in a binary tree has zero, one or two children. For example, the following tree is a binary tree: \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,0) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (-1.5,-1.5) {$2$}; \node[draw, circle] (3) at (1.5,-1.5) {$3$}; \node[draw, circle] (4) at (-3,-3) {$4$}; \node[draw, circle] (5) at (0,-3) {$5$}; \node[draw, circle] (6) at (-1.5,-4.5) {$6$}; \node[draw, circle] (7) at (3,-3) {$7$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (3); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (4); \path[draw,thick,-] (2) -- (5); \path[draw,thick,-] (5) -- (6); \path[draw,thick,-] (3) -- (7); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} \end{samepage} \index{pre-order} \index{in-order} \index{post-order} The nodes of a binary tree have three natural orderings that correspond to different ways to recursively traverse the tree: \begin{itemize} \item \key{pre-order}: first process the root, then traverse the left subtree, then traverse the right subtree \item \key{in-order}: first traverse the left subtree, then process the root, then traverse the right subtree \item \key{post-order}: first traverse the left subtree, then traverse the right subtree, then process the root \end{itemize} For the above tree, the nodes in pre-order are $[1,2,4,5,6,3,7]$, in in-order $[4,2,6,5,1,3,7]$ and in post-order $[4,6,5,2,7,3,1]$. If we know the pre-order and in-order of a tree, we can reconstruct the exact structure of the tree. For example, the above tree is the only possible tree with pre-order $[1,2,4,5,6,3,7]$ and in-order $[4,2,6,5,1,3,7]$. In a similar way, the post-order and in-order also determine the structure of a tree. However, the situation is different if we only know the pre-order and post-order of a tree. In this case, there may be more than one tree that match the orderings. For example, in both of the trees \begin{center} \begin{tikzpicture}[scale=0.9] \node[draw, circle] (1) at (0,0) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2) at (-1.5,-1.5) {$2$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1) -- (2); \node[draw, circle] (1b) at (0+4,0) {$1$}; \node[draw, circle] (2b) at (1.5+4,-1.5) {$2$}; \path[draw,thick,-] (1b) -- (2b); \end{tikzpicture} \end{center} the pre-order is $[1,2]$ and the post-order is $[2,1]$, but the structures of the trees are different.