103. Binary Tree Zigzag Level Order Traversal

Given a binary tree, return the zigzag level order traversal of its nodes' values. (ie, from left to right, then right to left for the next level and alternate between).

For example:
Given binary tree [3,9,20,null,null,15,7],

    3
   / \
  9  20
    /  \
   15   7

return its zigzag level order traversal as:

[
  [3],
  [20,9],
  [15,7]
]

Solution:

Use BFS to level order traverse the tree.

Use a boolean flag to indicate the order in current level (left to right, or right to left).

After finish one level, flip the order flag.



Code:

/**
 * Definition for a binary tree node.
 * public class TreeNode {
 *     int val;
 *     TreeNode left;
 *     TreeNode right;
 *     TreeNode(int x) { val = x; }
 * }
 */
public class Solution {
    public List<List<Integer>> zigzagLevelOrder(TreeNode root) {
        List<List<Integer>> result = new ArrayList<>();
        if (root == null) {
            return result;
        }
        
        Queue<TreeNode> queue = new LinkedList<>();
        queue.offer(root);
        boolean order = true;
        
        while (!queue.isEmpty()) {
            int size = queue.size();
            List<Integer> list = new ArrayList<>();
            for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
                TreeNode node = queue.poll();
                if (order) {
                    list.add(node.val);
                }
                else {
                    list.add(0, node.val);
                }
                if (node.left != null) {
                    queue.offer(node.left);
                }
                if (node.right != null) {
                    queue.offer(node.right);
                }
            }
            result.add(list);
            order = !order;
        }
        
        return result;
    }
}