How do you serialize and deserialize a Binary Tree?

Difficulty: 5/10

preorder traversal, null markers, binary vs text format

Binary Tree Serialization

Serialization converts a tree into a sequence that can be stored or transmitted, while deserialization reconstructs the original structure. The critical requirement is preserving null-child information; otherwise different tree shapes can produce the same value sequence. Preorder traversal with explicit null markers is a common approach.

javascript

1
Preorder plus null markers uniquely captures tree structure.
2
Serialization time: O(n).
3
Deserialization time: O(n).
4
Serialized representation can be string, byte stream, or structured format.
5
For production systems, format versioning and validation should also be considered.

Scenario Questions

0-2 years experience

Follow-up Questions