Finding min element of binary search tree

Question

I am having trouble finding the smallest element of a binary search tree. I have some code finished, but it is not working.

public T getMinElement(TreeNode<T> node) {
    //TODO: implement this
    if (node == null){
        return null;
    }
     if (node.getLeftChild() == null){
        return (T) node;
     }
     else{
        return getMinElement(node);
  }
}

What do you mean by "it is not working"? Please provide more details about the problem you have encountered. — Code-Apprentice
– Code-Apprentice, Commented Dec 7, 2012 at 1:51

durron597 · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-07 01:52:23Z

6

You were almost there! You just need to recurse on the left child of your binary search tree (always guaranteed to be smaller). Also you had some syntax errors, which I fixed.

public <T> T getMinElement(TreeNode<T> node) {
  if (node == null){
    return null;
  }
  if (node.getLeftChild() == null){
    return node.getData(); // or whatever your method is
  } else{
    return getMinElement(node.getLeftChild());
  }
}

answered Dec 7, 2012 at 1:52

durron597

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