What happens if you apply DFS on a graph with cycles without tracking visited no

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Question: What happens if you apply DFS on a graph with cycles without tracking visited nodes?

Options:

Correct Answer: It will enter an infinite loop.

Solution:

If DFS is applied on a graph with cycles without tracking visited nodes, it will enter an infinite loop, revisiting the same nodes.

What happens if you apply DFS on a graph with cycles without tracking visited nodes?

What happens if you apply DFS on a graph with cycles without tracking visited nodes?

Step 1: Understand what DFS (Depth-First Search) is. It is a way to explore all the nodes in a graph by going as deep as possible along each branch before backtracking.
Step 2: Recognize that a graph can have cycles, which means there are paths that can lead back to the same node.
Step 3: If you start DFS from a node and it has a cycle, you will visit that node again when you reach the cycle.
Step 4: Without tracking visited nodes, DFS will not know that it has already been to that node.
Step 5: As a result, DFS will keep going back to the same node over and over again, creating an infinite loop.
Step 6: This means the algorithm will never finish and will keep running forever.

Depth-First Search (DFS) – A graph traversal algorithm that explores as far as possible along each branch before backtracking.
Graph Cycles – A cycle in a graph occurs when a path leads back to a previously visited node.
Visited Nodes Tracking – A technique used in graph algorithms to keep track of nodes that have already been explored to prevent revisiting.