In the context of Dijkstra's algorithm, what does 'relaxation' mean?
Practice Questions
Q1
In the context of Dijkstra's algorithm, what does 'relaxation' mean?
Updating the distance to a node if a shorter path is found
Removing nodes from the graph
Adding new edges to the graph
Resetting the algorithm
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
In the context of Dijkstra's algorithm, what does 'relaxation' mean?
Step 1: Start with a graph that has nodes (points) and edges (connections between points).
Step 2: Each node has a distance value, initially set to infinity, except for the starting node which is set to 0.
Step 3: Look at the edges connected to the current node to find neighboring nodes.
Step 4: For each neighboring node, calculate the total distance from the starting node to that neighbor through the current node.
Step 5: If this calculated distance is shorter than the previously known distance to that neighbor, update the neighbor's distance to this new shorter value.
Step 6: This process of checking and updating distances is called 'relaxation'.
Step 7: Repeat this process until all nodes have been processed.
