Help with multiple choice question

[snipez90]

Homework Statement

Which is true about the method find?

//Return TreeNode with target value, or null if target not found
public static TreeNode find(TreeNode root, Comparable target)
{
if(root == null)
return null;
else if(target.compareTo(root.getValue()) == 0)
return root;
else if(target.compareTo(root.getValue()) < 0)
return find(root.getLeft(), target);
else
return find(root.getRight(), target);
}

A) Method find will never work as intended
B) Method find will always work as intended
C) Method find will only work as intended if target is not in the tree.
D) Method find will always work as intended if the tree is a binary search tree
E) Method find will only work as intended if the tree is a binary search tree and target occurs no more than once in the tree

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

I chose E. Since it uses methods getLeft() and getRight(), it appears to work only for binary search trees. Also, it target occurred twice, it could return one of two pointers right?

 

[wildman]

I'll agree with you and for the same reasons.

 

[piercas]

Your response is correct. Method find will only work as intended if the tree is a binary search tree and the target occurs no more than once in the tree. This is because the method uses the compareTo() method to compare the target value with the value of each node in the tree, and the compareTo() method is only reliable for binary search trees where values are sorted in a specific order. If the target occurs more than once in the tree, the method may return the wrong node.