partitioning on Binary Tree

Last updated: July 10, 2025

Quick Overview

Perform a rotation on a binary tree and return the result.

Microsoft
Coding & Algorithms
Software Engineer
Microsoft
July 10, 2025
Software Engineer
Phone Screen
Coding & Algorithms
Hard

9

6

3,896 solved


Perform a rotation on a binary tree and return the result.

Microsoft uses this problem in the Phone Screen to evaluate your algorithmic thinking. They expect you to discuss multiple approaches, analyze trade-offs between them, and implement the optimal solution with clean, readable code.

What the Interviewer Expects
  • Quickly identify the optimal approach and its theoretical basis
  • Handle complex algorithm design with multiple interacting components
  • Write concise, elegant code under time pressure
  • Prove correctness of your approach and discuss alternative solutions
  • Optimize beyond the obvious: discuss constant factor improvements
  • Address follow-up variations and explain how the solution generalizes
Key Topics to Cover
Sorting and searching
Binary search and divide and conquer
Time and space complexity analysis
Graph algorithms and traversal
Common algorithm patterns (sliding window, two pointers, BFS/DFS)
How to Approach This
  1. Clarify input constraints and edge cases before writing code.
  2. Walk through your approach verbally and confirm with the interviewer before coding.
  3. Start with a brute force solution, then optimize. Mention time and space complexity.
  4. Test your solution with examples, including edge cases like empty input or duplicates.
  5. Consider common patterns: sliding window, two pointers, hash map, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming.
Possible Follow-up Questions
  • What if the input doesn't fit in memory?
  • Can you optimize the space complexity of your solution?
  • Can you solve this in a single pass?
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