// Copyright 2014 Sonia Keys // License MIT: http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT // Graph algorithms: Dijkstra, A*, Bellman Ford, Floyd Warshall; // Kruskal and Prim minimal spanning tree; topological sort and DAG longest // and shortest paths; Eulerian cycle and path; degeneracy and k-cores; // Bron Kerbosch clique finding; connected components; dominance; and others. // // This is a graph library of integer indexes. To use it with application // data, you associate data with integer indexes, perform searches or other // operations with the library, and then use the integer index results to refer // back to your application data. // // Thus it does not store application data, pointers to application data, // or require you to implement an interface on your application data. // The idea is to keep the library methods fast and lean. // // Representation overview // // The package defines a type for a node index (NI) which is just an integer // type. It defines types for a number of number graph representations using // NI. The fundamental graph type is AdjacencyList, which is the // common "list of lists" graph representation. It is a list as a slice // with one element for each node of the graph. Each element is a list // itself, a list of neighbor nodes, implemented as an NI slice. Methods // on an AdjacencyList generally work on any representable graph, including // directed or undirected graphs, simple graphs or multigraphs. // // The type Undirected embeds an AdjacencyList adding methods specific to // undirected graphs. Similarly the type Directed adds methods meaningful // for directed graphs. // // Similar to NI, the type LI is a "label index" which labels a // node-to-neighbor "arc" or edge. Just as an NI can index arbitrary node // data, an LI can index arbitrary arc or edge data. A number of algorithms // use a "weight" associated with an arc. This package does not represent // weighted arcs explicitly, but instead uses the LI as a more general // mechanism allowing not only weights but arbitrary data to be associated // with arcs. While AdjacencyList represents an arc with simply an NI, // the type LabeledAdjacencyList uses a type that pairs an NI with an LI. // This type is named Half, for half-arc. (A full arc would represent // both ends.) Types LabeledDirected and LabeledUndirected embed a // LabeledAdjacencyList. // // In contrast to Half, the type Edge represents both ends of an edge (but // no label.) The type LabeledEdge adds the label. The type WeightedEdgeList // bundles a list of LabeledEdges with a WeightFunc. (WeightedEdgeList has // few methods. It exists primarily to support the Kruskal algorithm.) // // FromList is a compact rooted tree (or forest) respresentation. Like // AdjacencyList and LabeledAdjacencyList, it is a list with one element for // each node of the graph. Each element contains only a single neighbor // however, its parent in the tree, the "from" node. // // Code generation // // A number of methods on AdjacencyList, Directed, and Undirected are // applicable to LabeledAdjacencyList, LabeledDirected, and LabeledUndirected // simply by ignoring the label. In these cases code generation provides // methods on both types from a single source implementation. These methods // are documented with the sentence "There are equivalent labeled and unlabeled // versions of this method." // // Terminology // // This package uses the term "node" rather than "vertex." It uses "arc" // to mean a directed edge, and uses "from" and "to" to refer to the ends // of an arc. It uses "start" and "end" to refer to endpoints of a search // or traversal. // // The usage of "to" and "from" is perhaps most strange. In common speech // they are prepositions, but throughout this package they are used as // adjectives, for example to refer to the "from node" of an arc or the // "to node". The type "FromList" is named to indicate it stores a list of // "from" values. // // A "half arc" refers to just one end of an arc, either the to or from end. // // Two arcs are "reciprocal" if they connect two distinct nodes n1 and n2, // one arc leading from n1 to n2 and the other arc leading from n2 to n1. // Undirected graphs are represented with reciprocal arcs. // // A node with an arc to itself represents a "loop." Duplicate arcs, where // a node has multiple arcs to another node, are termed "parallel arcs." // A graph with no loops or parallel arcs is "simple." A graph that allows // parallel arcs is a "multigraph" // // The "size" of a graph traditionally means the number of undirected edges. // This package uses "arc size" to mean the number of arcs in a graph. For an // undirected graph without loops, arc size is 2 * size. // // The "order" of a graph is the number of nodes. An "ordering" though means // an ordered list of nodes. // // A number of graph search algorithms use a concept of arc "weights." // The sum of arc weights along a path is a "distance." In contrast, the // number of nodes in a path, including start and end nodes, is the path's // "length." (Yes, mixing weights and lengths would be nonsense physically, // but the terms used here are just distinct terms for abstract values. // The actual meaning to an application is likely to be something else // entirely and is not relevant within this package.) // // Finally, this package documentation takes back the word "object" in some // places to refer to a Go value, especially a value of a type with methods. // // Shortest path searches // // This package implements a number of shortest path searches. Most work // with weighted graphs that are directed or undirected, and with graphs // that may have loops or parallel arcs. For weighted graphs, "shortest" // is defined as the path distance (sum of arc weights) with path length // (number of nodes) breaking ties. If multiple paths have the same minimum // distance with the same minimum length, search methods are free to return // any of them. // // Algorithm Description // Dijkstra Non-negative arc weights, single or all paths. // AStar Non-negative arc weights, heuristic guided, single path. // BellmanFord Negative arc weights allowed, no negative cycles, all paths. // DAGPath O(n) algorithm for DAGs, arc weights of any sign. // FloydWarshall all pairs distances, no negative cycles. package graph