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Yes, you can perform a full Depth-First Search or Breadth-First Search and compute the difference between each node value and the target. However, this approach is less efficient because it visits all nodes instead of pruning the search using BST ordering.
Yes, variations of BST search and closest value problems frequently appear in technical interviews at companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta. They test understanding of tree traversal and the ability to use BST properties effectively.
A Binary Search Tree is the key data structure for this problem. Its ordered structure allows efficient traversal toward the target value without visiting every node.
The optimal approach uses the Binary Search Tree property to guide traversal. Starting from the root, compare the target with the current node and move left or right accordingly while tracking the closest value. This reduces the search space and typically runs in O(h) time.