I am working on implementing a find(int v) method in a binary tree in Java, where I need to search for a node containing the given value v. The method should return the node if found, otherwise it should return null. Below is the code I have implemented:

class Node {
    Node left, right;
    int value;

    public Node find(int v) {
        if (this == null) return null;
        if (this.value == v) return this;
        Node found = (left != null) ? left.find(v) : null;
        if (found == null) {
            found = (right != null) ? right.find(v) : null;
        }
        return found;
    }
}

However, when I run the code, I encounter a StackOverflowError. I suspect that it’s due to the recursive calls, but I am unsure why it happens or how to fix it.

Things I have tried:

Ensuring that the tree is properly constructed and does not have cycles.
Checking if the left and right children are null before making recursive calls.
Error message:

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StackOverflowError

Questions:

Why am I encountering a StackOverflowError with my current implementation?
How can I modify my find method to avoid this error?
Are there any best practices for implementing search methods in binary trees to prevent such errors?

Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Problem Statement:

A tree is composed of nodes that adhere to the following rules:

1. Each node holds a value corresponding to an integer.
2. Except for the root node, every node has exactly one other node that
   references it.
3. A node cannot be the left or right child of more than one node.
4. If a node does not have a left or right child, then its reference is
   null.
5. The value of any node’s left child is less than the value of the
   node, and the value of any node’s right child is greater than or
   equal to the node’s value.

Here is an example of a tree that follows these rules (the root is 9):

          9
       /    
     5      13
   /      /   
  1    8  12   17

Question:

Implement a method in the Node class called find(int x) that returns the node holding the value x. If this node does not exist, the method should return null.

Constraints:

The height of the tree (the distance between the farthest node and the root) is between 0 and 100,000 nodes.
Minimize the use of RAM.