230-kth-smallest-element-in-a-bst.py

"""
Problem Link: https://leetcode.com/problems/kth-smallest-element-in-a-bst/

Given a binary search tree, write a function kthSmallest to find the kth smallest element in it.

Note: 
You may assume k is always valid, 1 ≤ k ≤ BST's total elements.

Example 1:
Input: root = [3,1,4,null,2], k = 1
   3
  / \
 1   4
  \
   2
Output: 1

Example 2:
Input: root = [5,3,6,2,4,null,null,1], k = 3
       5
      / \
     3   6
    / \
   2   4
  /
 1
Output: 3

Follow up:
What if the BST is modified (insert/delete operations) often and you need to find the kth smallest frequently? 
How would you optimize the kthSmallest routine?
"""
# Definition for a binary tree node.
# class TreeNode(object):
#     def __init__(self, x):
#         self.val = x
#         self.left = None
#         self.right = None

class Solution(object):
    def kthSmallest(self, root, k):
        """
        :type root: TreeNode
        :type k: int
        :rtype: int
        """
        stack = []
        while True:
            while root:
                stack.append(root)
                root = root.left
            root = stack.pop()
            k -= 1
            if not k:
                return root.val
            root = root.right

class Solution1:
    def kthSmallest(self, root: TreeNode, k: int) -> int:
        stack = []
        cur = root
        
        while stack or cur:
            if cur:
                stack.append(cur)
                cur = cur.left
            else:
                node = stack.pop()
                k -= 1
                if not k:
                    return node.val
                cur = node.right