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Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree

Problem Statement

Serialization is the process of converting a data structure or object into a sequence of bits so that it can be stored in a file or memory buffer, or transmitted across a network connection link to be reconstructed later in the same or another computer environment.

Design an algorithm to serialize and deserialize a binary tree. There is no restriction on how your serialization/deserialization algorithm should work. You just need to ensure that a binary tree can be serialized to a string and this string can be deserialized to the original tree structure.

Clarification: The input/output format is the same as how LeetCode serializes a binary tree. You do not necessarily need to follow this format, so please be creative and come up with different approaches yourself.

Leetcode Link

Example 1:

Input: root = [1,2,3,null,null,4,5]
Output: [1,2,3,null,null,4,5]

Example 2:

Input: root = []
Output: []

Constraints:

  • The number of nodes in the tree is in the range [0, 104].
  • -1000 <= Node.val <= 1000

Code

Python
class Codec:
def serialize(self, root):
ans=[]
stc=[root]
while(len(stc)>0):
tstc=[]
for a in stc:
if(a==None):
ans.append("N")
else:
ans.append(str(a.val))
if(a!=None):
tstc.append(a.left)
tstc.append(a.right)
stc=tstc
ans="x".join(ans)
return ans
def deserialize(self, data):
data=data.split("x")
if(data[0]=="N"):
return None
root=TreeNode(data[0])
stc=[root]
i=1
while(len(stc)>0):
if(data[i]!="N"):
stc[0].left=TreeNode(int(data[i]))
i+=1
stc.append(stc[0].left)
else:
stc[0].left=None
i+=1
if(data[i]!="N"):
stc[0].right=TreeNode(int(data[i]))
i+=1
stc.append(stc[0].right)
else:
stc[0].right=None
i+=1
stc.pop(0)
return root