Kth Smallest Element in a BST – Solution & Complexity
Solution Walkthrough
Step 1: Recognize the Pattern
The key pattern is: Iterative in-order traversal with an explicit stack, stopping at the k-th visit. Identify the state and invariant before coding.
Step 2: Build the Algorithm
Advance one state transition at a time. Mark or update state before exploring dependent work.
Step 3: Check Edge Cases
Test empty or minimal input, skewed shapes, duplicates where allowed, and impossible outcomes.
Step 4: Solution and Complexity
Time: O(h + k). Space: O(h) for the stack.
All 5 languages below run and submit against the remote judge for this problem — Java/Go/Rust use the same real TreeNode structural-type support the judge added for the rest of the linked-list/tree track.
