# Binary Lifting (Gold) Intro

When you get to a certain point in programming contests, you will almost certainly hit problems on trees. **Binary lifting** (also known as **binary jumping**) is one of the most powerful algorithms you can learn to traverse trees, and when put to use with other algorithms (preorder DFS, Euler tour, and more), you can solve a whole array of problems that would otherwise be impossible. Unfortunately, many of the resources available as of now describe the method in one or two sentences and then provide a large block of code, prompting many people to memorize the code without actually understanding what is going on.&#x20;

This will be a three part series covering the basics, each part roughly described as follows:&#x20;

* Part 1: Dissecting the Logic Underlying Binary Lifting and Finding the kth Ancestor of a Node
* Part 2: Applying Binary Lifting to Find LCA of Two Nodes
* Part 3: Applying Binary Lifting to Find Node to Node Distance

Then, a fourth part, if made, would cover more advanced applications of binary lifting when used in conjunction with other algorithms.&#x20;

In all, the goal is to teach binary lifting code and applications in steps and then put it all together.&#x20;
