What is a common application of DFS in graph theory?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is a common application of DFS in graph theory?
Finding the shortest path
Topological sorting
Finding the minimum spanning tree
Finding connected components
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is a common application of DFS in graph theory?
Step 1: Understand what DFS (Depth-First Search) is. It is a method for exploring all the nodes in a graph by going as deep as possible along each branch before backtracking.
Step 2: Learn about topological sorting. This is a way of arranging the nodes (or tasks) in a directed graph so that for every directed edge from node A to node B, A comes before B in the ordering.
Step 3: Recognize that topological sorting is useful in scheduling tasks. For example, if task A must be completed before task B, topological sorting helps to arrange these tasks in the correct order.
Step 4: Connect DFS to topological sorting. DFS can be used to perform topological sorting by visiting nodes and keeping track of the order in which they are completed.
