[LeetCode 4.29] Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum

Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum

Given a non-empty binary tree, find the maximum path sum.

For this problem, a path is defined as any sequence of nodes from some starting node to any node in the tree along the parent-child connections. The path must contain at least one node and does not need to go through the root.

Example 1:

Input: [1,2,3]

       1
      / \
     2   3

Output: 6

Example 2:

Input: [-10,9,20,null,null,15,7]

   -10
   / \
  9  20
    /  \
   15   7

Output: 42

Python3 Solution:

class Solution:
    def maxPathSum(self, root: TreeNode) -> int:
        if not root.left and not root.right:
            return root.val

        def helper(root):
            if not root:
                return 0
            left = helper(root.left)
            right = helper(root.right)
            cursum = max(root.val, left+root.val, left+root.val+right, root.val+right)
            self.maxsum = max(self.maxsum, cursum)
            return max(left+root.val, root.val, root.val+right)

        self.maxsum = float('-inf')
        helper(root)
        return self.maxsum