968. Binary Tree Cameras

Problem

You are given the root of a binary tree. We install cameras on the tree nodes where each camera at a node can monitor its parent, itself, and its immediate children.

Return the minimum number of cameras needed to monitor all nodes of the tree.

 

Example 1:

Input: root = [0,0,null,0,0]
Output: 1
Explanation: One camera is enough to monitor all nodes if placed as shown.

Example 2:

Input: root = [0,0,null,0,null,0,null,null,0]
Output: 2
Explanation: At least two cameras are needed to monitor all nodes of the tree. The above image shows one of the valid configurations of camera placement.

 

Constraints:

• The number of nodes in the tree is in the range [1, 1000].
• Node.val == 0