5 Best Ways to Perform Postorder Traversal of a Binary Tree in Python

πŸ’‘ Problem Formulation: Binary tree postorder traversal involves visiting each node in a binary tree in the order of left child, right child, and then the parent node. This process is particularly useful in operations such as expression tree evaluations and directory tree traversal. The input is a binary tree and the desired output is a list of node values following the postorder sequence.

Method 1: Recursive Traversal

The recursive approach to postorder traversal is the most straightforward method. This function will call itself to traverse left and right subtrees before processing the current node. It adheres to the definition of postorder traversal (left, right, root) directly and is easy to understand and implement.

Here’s an example:

class TreeNode:
    def __init__(self, value):
        self.value = value
        self.left = None
        self.right = None

def postorder_traversal_recursive(root):
    if root is None:
        return []
    return postorder_traversal_recursive(root.left) + \
           postorder_traversal_recursive(root.right) + [root.value]

# Create a simple binary tree
root = TreeNode('a')
root.left = TreeNode('b')
root.right = TreeNode('c')
root.left.left = TreeNode('d')
root.left.right = TreeNode('e')

# Perform the traversal
print(postorder_traversal_recursive(root))

Output: ['d', 'e', 'b', 'c', 'a']

This code snippet defines a binary tree node class and a recursive postorder traversal function. By invoking this function with the root of the tree, we get an array of node values in postorder. It’s succinct and maintains the natural understanding of the traversal process.

Method 2: Iterative Traversal With Stack

An iterative approach to postorder traversal uses a stack to simulate the recursion stack. The main points of this method are maintaining control over the traversal process and avoiding the overhead that comes with recursion, such as function call stacks and possible stack overflow errors.

Here’s an example:

def postorder_traversal_iterative(root):
    if not root:
        return []
    stack, output = [root,], []
    while stack:
        root = stack.pop()
        output.append(root.value)
        if root.left:
            stack.append(root.left)
        if root.right:
            stack.append(root.right)
    return output[::-1]

print(postorder_traversal_iterative(root))

Output: ['d', 'e', 'b', 'c', 'a']

In this code snippet, we define a function that mimics the behavior of recursive postorder traversal iteratively. We use a stack to keep track of nodes and a list to collect the node values in reverse postorder. The list is reversed at the end to present the correct postorder output.

Method 3: Iterative Using Two Stacks

Using two stacks in an iterative approach creates a natural reversal of the process that aligns with postorder traversal. The first stack is used to simulate the behavior of the recursive process, while the second stack gathers the nodes in reverse postorder sequence.

Here’s an example:

def postorder_traversal_two_stacks(root):
    if not root:
        return []
    stack1, stack2 = [root,], []
    while stack1:
        root = stack1.pop()
        stack2.append(root)
        if root.left:
            stack1.append(root.left)
        if root.right:
            stack1.append(root.right)
    return [node.value for node in reversed(stack2)]

print(postorder_traversal_two_stacks(root))

Output: ['d', 'e', 'b', 'c', 'a']

This code snippet builds upon the iterative approach by using two stacks. The first stack is used to walk through the tree as before, while the second stack captures the nodes in a way that, when reversed, gives us the postorder sequence. The list comprehension constructs the final list based on the second stack.

Method 4: Morris Traversal

Morris traversal is a method of tree traversal that does not use extra space for stacks or recursion. It is based on a link creation and deletion process known as ‘threading’ the tree. This complex method modifies the tree during the traversal but restores it back before the function returns.

Here’s an example:

# The code for Morris traversal is quite complex and lengthy,
# and is usually not recommended for a simple overview or quick snippets.

Since this method requires an extensive amount of code and is complex, it is not provided here. However, interested readers can find plenty of resources online detailing Morris traversal.

Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Using Generators

A Pythonic one-liner approach for postorder traversal can be done using generators. It is compact and leverages the power of Python iterators. This method is great for functional programming enthusiasts and for use in simple expressions.

Here’s an example:

postorder_traversal_generator = lambda root: [] if not root else \
postorder_traversal_generator(root.left) + \
postorder_traversal_generator(root.right) + [root.value]

print(postorder_traversal_generator(root))

Output: ['d', 'e', 'b', 'c', 'a']

This code demonstrates a one-liner generator expression for carrying out a postorder tree traversal. It’s a succinct and elegant way to write a traversal but lacks readability and can be inefficient due to the recreation of lists on each recursive call.

Summary/Discussion

  • Method 1: Recursive Traversal. Simple and intuitive. Can lead to stack overflow with very large trees.
  • Method 2: Iterative Traversal With Stack. Reduces function call overhead. Slightly more complex than recursive methods.
  • Method 3: Iterative Using Two Stacks. More understandable iterative version than using one stack. Requires additional memory for the second stack.
  • Method 4: Morris Traversal. Space efficient. Highly complex and alters the tree during traversal, which can be problematic.
  • Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Using Generators. Elegant and concise one-liner. Less readable and may be inefficient for large trees.