Graphs are a fundamental data structure in computer science, often used to model pairwise relations between objects. They are used in various applications, including social networks, routing, and database indexing.
Types of Graphs
Directed Graphs: Edges have a direction.
- Example: A network of flights between cities.
Undirected Graphs: Edges have no direction.
- Example: A social network.
Weighted Graphs: Edges have a weight or value.
- Example: Road networks with distances.
Unweighted Graphs: Edges have no weight.
- Example: Social networks without any connection strength.
Common Graph Algorithms
Breadth-First Search (BFS): Finds the shortest path from a source node to all other nodes.
- Example: Finding the shortest path in a social network.
Depth-First Search (DFS): Explores as far as possible along each branch before backtracking.
- Example: Finding connected components in a graph.
Dijkstra's Algorithm: Finds the shortest path between two nodes in a weighted graph.
- Example: Finding the shortest route in a road network.
Floyd-Warshall Algorithm: Finds the shortest paths between all pairs of vertices in a weighted graph.
- Example: Finding the shortest route between all cities in a country.
For more information on graph algorithms, check out our Graph Algorithms Tutorial.
Conclusion
Graphs are a powerful tool for modeling complex relationships between objects. Understanding different types of graphs and algorithms can help you solve a wide range of problems in computer science.