Challenge 2: Finding the Maximum in a Tree

Time:
90 minutes

Given:
A non-empty binary tree, where every node carries an integer.

Challenge:
Implement and verify a program that computes the maximum of the values in the tree.

Motivation:
The challenge was constructed by the organizers to explore how tools handle heap data structures that are not lists. The challenge, nonetheless, did admit a reasonably simple specification with an abstract sequence, map, or similar data type, as it did not involve properties such as the ordering of elements in a tree. Another aspect not tested was data structure mutation.