Inverting a Binary Tree: Mastering Algorithms

A Comparative Study in Ruby and JavaScript

In computer science, a binary tree is a foundational data structure used extensively in various applications such as databases, graphics, and algorithm design. One interesting operation that can be performed on a binary tree is inversion or mirroring, where the left and right children of all nodes are swapped. This article explores how to invert a binary tree using Ruby and JavaScript, providing insights into the implementation details in both languages.

Understanding Binary Trees

Before delving into the inversion process, it’s crucial to understand what a binary tree is. A binary tree is a tree data structure in which each node has at most two children, referred to as the left child and the right child. Here’s a simple representation of a binary tree:

      1
     / \
    2   3
   / \
  4   5

In this tree, 1 is the root node, 2 and 3 are the children of 1, and 4 and 5 are the children of 2.

The Concept of Inversion

Inverting a binary tree involves swapping the left and right child of every node in the tree. After inverting the above tree, it would look like this:

      1
     / \
    3…