Which algorithm is typically used for topological sorting?
Practice Questions
Q1
Which algorithm is typically used for topological sorting?
BFS
DFS
Both
None
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
Which algorithm is typically used for topological sorting?
Step 1: Understand what topological sorting is. It is a way to arrange the nodes of a directed graph so that for every directed edge from node A to node B, node A comes before node B in the ordering.
Step 2: Know that topological sorting is only possible for directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), which are graphs that have directed edges and do not contain any cycles.
Step 3: Learn about Depth-First Search (DFS). It is an algorithm that explores as far as possible along each branch before backtracking.
Step 4: Realize that DFS can be used to perform topological sorting by visiting each node and marking it as visited, then adding it to the topological order once all its neighbors have been visited.
Step 5: Conclude that DFS is typically used for topological sorting because it effectively explores all paths in the graph and can handle the backtracking needed to ensure the correct order.
