Right Side View of Binary Tree in DSA Python - Build from Scratch

Right Side View of Binary Tree

📖 Scenario: You are working on a program that helps visualize a binary tree from the right side. Imagine standing on the right side of a tree and seeing only the nodes that are visible from that angle.

🎯 Goal: Build a program that creates a binary tree, then finds and prints the list of node values visible from the right side.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a binary tree with given nodes

Use a variable to hold the right side view nodes

Implement a function to find the right side view of the binary tree

Print the list of visible node values from the right side

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Right side view of a binary tree helps in visualizing hierarchical data from a specific angle, useful in UI trees, organizational charts, and decision trees.

💼 Career

Understanding tree traversal and views is important for software engineers working with data structures, algorithms, and system design.

1

Create the Binary Tree Nodes

Create a class called TreeNode with an __init__ method that takes val, left, and right parameters. Then create the binary tree with root node value 1, left child 2, right child 3, left child of 2 as 4, and right child of 3 as 5. Assign the root node to a variable called root.

DSA Python

# Define TreeNode class and create the binary tree
# Your code here

Hint

Define the TreeNode class first, then create nodes and link them as left and right children.

2

Create a List to Hold Right Side View Nodes

Create an empty list called right_view that will store the values of nodes visible from the right side.

DSA Python

class TreeNode:
    def __init__(self, val=0, left=None, right=None):
        self.val = val
        self.left = left
        self.right = right

root = TreeNode(1)
root.left = TreeNode(2)
root.right = TreeNode(3)
root.left.left = TreeNode(4)
root.right.right = TreeNode(5)

# Create an empty list called right_view
# Your code here

Hint

Just create an empty list named right_view to store visible node values.

3

Implement Function to Find Right Side View

Define a function called rightSideView that takes root as input. Use a queue to perform level order traversal. For each level, add the last node's value to right_view. Use a while loop and for loop with variables level_length and i to process nodes level by level.

DSA Python

class TreeNode:
    def __init__(self, val=0, left=None, right=None):
        self.val = val
        self.left = left
        self.right = right

root = TreeNode(1)
root.left = TreeNode(2)
root.right = TreeNode(3)
root.left.left = TreeNode(4)
root.right.right = TreeNode(5)

right_view = []

# Define function rightSideView(root) to fill right_view list
# Your code here

Hint

Use a queue to visit nodes level by level. Add the last node's value of each level to right_view.

4

Print the Right Side View List

Print the right_view list to show the node values visible from the right side.

DSA Python

from collections import deque

class TreeNode:
    def __init__(self, val=0, left=None, right=None):
        self.val = val
        self.left = left
        self.right = right

root = TreeNode(1)
root.left = TreeNode(2)
root.right = TreeNode(3)
root.left.left = TreeNode(4)
root.right.right = TreeNode(5)

right_view = []

def rightSideView(root):
    if not root:
        return
    queue = deque([root])
    while queue:
        level_length = len(queue)
        for i in range(level_length):
            node = queue.popleft()
            if node.left:
                queue.append(node.left)
            if node.right:
                queue.append(node.right)
            if i == level_length - 1:
                right_view.append(node.val)

rightSideView(root)

# Print the right_view list
# Your code here

Hint

Use print(right_view) to display the final list of visible nodes.

Practice

1. What does the "Right Side View of Binary Tree" represent?

easy

A. Nodes visible when the tree is viewed from the right side

B. Nodes visible when the tree is viewed from the left side

C. All leaf nodes of the binary tree

D. All nodes at the deepest level of the tree

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the view perspective

   The right side view shows nodes visible when looking at the tree from the right side.

2. Step 2: Differentiate from other views

   Unlike left side or leaf views, this specifically shows the rightmost nodes at each level.

3. Final Answer:

   Nodes visible when the tree is viewed from the right side -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Right side view = rightmost nodes [OK]

Hint: Right side view shows rightmost nodes at each level [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing right side view with left side view
• Thinking it shows all leaf nodes
• Assuming it shows deepest level nodes only

2. Which of the following Python code snippets correctly initializes an empty list to store the right side view nodes?

easy

A. right_view = set()

B. right_view = []

C. right_view = ()

D. right_view = {}

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct data structure for ordered collection

   We need a list to store nodes in order, so an empty list is initialized with [].

2. Step 2: Check other options

   {} is a dictionary, () is a tuple, set() is unordered; none fit the requirement.

3. Final Answer:

   right_view = [] -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Empty list uses [] [OK]

Hint: Use [] for empty list to store nodes [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using {} which creates a dictionary
• Using () which creates an empty tuple
• Using set() which is unordered

3. What is the output of the following code that prints the right side view of the binary tree?

class TreeNode:
    def __init__(self, val=0, left=None, right=None):
        self.val = val
        self.left = left
        self.right = right

def rightSideView(root):
    if not root:
        return []
    from collections import deque
    queue = deque([root])
    right_view = []
    while queue:
        level_length = len(queue)
        for i in range(level_length):
            node = queue.popleft()
            if node.left:
                queue.append(node.left)
            if node.right:
                queue.append(node.right)
            if i == level_length - 1:
                right_view.append(node.val)
    return right_view

# Tree:
#     1
#    / \
#   2   3
#    \   \
#     5   4
root = TreeNode(1, TreeNode(2, None, TreeNode(5)), TreeNode(3, None, TreeNode(4)))
print(rightSideView(root))

medium

A. [1, 3, 4]

B. [1, 2, 5]

C. [1, 3, 5]

D. [1, 2, 4]

Solution

1. Step 1: Traverse level by level and identify rightmost nodes

   Level 1: Node 1 (only node), Level 2: Nodes 2 and 3, rightmost is 3, Level 3: Nodes 5 and 4, rightmost is 4.

2. Step 2: Collect rightmost nodes in order

   Right side view list is [1, 3, 4].

3. Final Answer:

   [1, 3, 4] -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Rightmost nodes per level = [1, 3, 4] [OK]

Hint: Pick last node at each level during BFS [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Picking leftmost node instead of rightmost
• Appending nodes before checking level end
• Confusing node values at each level

4. Find the error in the following code snippet for right side view and select the fix:

def rightSideView(root):
    if not root:
        return []
    queue = [root]
    right_view = []
    while queue:
        level_length = len(queue)
        for i in range(level_length):
            node = queue.pop()
            if node.left:
                queue.append(node.left)
            if node.right:
                queue.append(node.right)
            if i == level_length - 1:
                right_view.append(node.val)
    return right_view

medium

A. Remove the if condition checking i == level_length - 1

B. Replace queue.append(node.left) with queue.insert(0, node.left)

C. Initialize queue as a deque instead of list

D. Replace queue.pop() with queue.pop(0) to pop from front

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify queue operation error

   Using pop() removes last element, but BFS requires removing from front (FIFO).

2. Step 2: Fix by popping from front

   Use pop(0) to remove first element, maintaining correct BFS order.

3. Final Answer:

   Replace queue.pop() with queue.pop(0) to pop from front -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Queue pop front for BFS [OK]

Hint: Use pop(0) to dequeue from front in list-based BFS [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using pop() removes from end, breaking BFS order
• Appending children incorrectly
• Ignoring level length causing wrong node selection

5. Given a binary tree, how would you modify the right side view algorithm to return the left side view instead? Choose the best approach.

hard

A. Reverse the final right side view list before returning

B. Change the order of adding children to queue: add right child before left child

C. Change the order of adding children to queue: add left child before right child

D. Use a stack instead of a queue for traversal

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand right side view child addition order

   Right side view adds right child before left child to queue, so rightmost nodes appear last at each level.

2. Step 2: Modify to get left side view

   Change to add left child before right child so leftmost nodes appear last at each level and get recorded.

3. Final Answer:

   Change the order of adding children to queue: add left child before right child -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Left side view = add left child first [OK]

Hint: Add left child before right child for left side view [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Reversing the right side view list incorrectly
• Adding right child before left child for left view
• Using stack breaks level order traversal