Graph Algorithms: Applications

CptS 223 Advanced Data Structures Larry Holder School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Washington State University

Applications
Depth-first search Biconnectivity Euler circuits Strongly-connected components

Depth-First Search
Recursively visit every vertex in the graph Considers every edge in the graph
Assumes undirected edge (u,v) is in us and vs adjacency list
DFS () ;; graph G=(V,E) foreach v in V if (! v.visited) then Visit (v) Visit (vertex v) v.visited = true foreach w adjacent to v if (! w.visited) then Visit (w) A B D C E

Visited flag prevents infinite loops Running time O(|V|+|E|)

DFS Applications
Undirected graph
Test if graph is connected
Run DFS from any vertex and then check if any vertices not visited

Depth-first spanning tree

Add edge (v,w) to spanning tree if w not yet visited (minimum spanning tree?) If graph not connected, then depth-first spanning forest
A B D C E

DFS Applications
Remembering the DFS traversal order is important for many applications Let the edges (v,w) added to the DF spanning tree be directed Add a directed back edge (dashed) if
w is already visited when considering edge (v,w), and v is already visited when considering reverse edge (w,v)
A B D C E B A D C
5

Biconnectivity
A connected, undirected graph is biconnected if the graph is still connected after removing any one vertex
I.e., when a node fails, there is always an alternative route

If a graph is not biconnected, the disconnecting vertices are called articulation points
Critical points of interest in many applications
Biconnected? Articulation points?
6

DFS Applications: Finding Articulation Points

From any vertex v, perform DFS and number vertices as they are visited
Num(v) is the visit number

Let Low(v) = lowest-numbered vertex reachable from v using 0 or more spanning tree edges and then at most one back edge
Low(v) = minimum of
Num(v) Lowest Num(w) among all back edges (v,w) Lowest Low(w) among all tree edges (v,w)

Can compute Num(v) and Low(v) in O(|E|+|V|) time

7

DFS Applications: Finding Articulation Points (Example)

Depth-first tree starting at A with Num/Low values:

Original Graph

DFS Applications: Finding Articulation Points

Root is articulation point iff it has more than one child Any other vertex v is an articulation point iff v has some child w such that Low(w) Num(v)
I.e., is there a child w of v that cannot reach a vertex visited before v? If yes, then removing v will disconnect w (and v is an articulation point)

DFS Applications: Finding Articulation Points (Example)

Depth-first tree starting at C with Num/Low values:

Original Graph

10

DFS Applications: Finding Articulation Points

High-level algorithm
Perform pre-order traversal to compute Num Perform post-order traversal to compute Low Perform another post-order traversal to detect articulation points

Last two post-order traversals can be combined In fact, all three traversals can be combined in one recursive algorithm
11

Implementation

12

Check for root omitted.

13

Check for root omitted.

14

Euler Circuits
Puzzle challenge
Can you draw a figure using a pen, drawing each line exactly once, without lifting the pen from the paper? And, can you finish where you started?

15

Euler Circuits
Solved by Leonhard Euler in 1736 using a graph approach (DFS)
Also called an Euler path or Euler tour Marked the beginning of graph theory

16

Euler Circuit Problem

Assign a vertex to each intersection in the drawing Add an undirected edge for each line segment in the drawing Find a path in the graph that traverses each edge exactly once, and stops where it started

17

Euler Circuit Problem

Necessary and sufficient conditions
Graph must be connected Each vertex must have an even degree

Graph with two odd-degree vertices can have an Euler tour (not circuit) Any other graph has no Euler tour or circuit

18

Euler Circuit Problem

Algorithm
Perform DFS from some vertex v until you return to v along path p If some part of graph not included, perform DFS from first vertex v on p that has an un-traversed edge (path p) Splice p into p Continue until all edges traversed
19

Euler Circuit Example

Start at vertex 5. Suppose DFS visits 5, 4, 10, 5.

20

Euler Circuit Example (cont.)

Graph remaining after 5, 4, 10, 5:

Start at vertex 4. Suppose DFS visits 4, 1, 3, 7, 4, 11, 10, 7, 9, 3, 4. Splicing into previous path: 5, 4, 1, 3, 7, 4, 11, 10, 7, 9, 3, 4, 10, 5.

21

Euler Circuit Example (cont.)

Graph remaining after 5, 4, 1, 3, 7, 4, 11, 10, 7, 9, 3, 4, 10, 5:

Start at vertex 3. Suppose DFS visits 3, 2, 8, 9, 6, 3. Splicing into previous path: 5, 4, 1, 3, 2, 8, 9, 6, 3, 7, 4, 11, 10, 7, 9, 3, 4, 10, 5.

22

Euler Circuit Example (cont.)

Graph remaining after 5, 4, 1, 3, 2, 8, 9, 6, 3, 7, 4, 11, 10, 7, 9, 3, 4, 10, 5:

Start at vertex 9. Suppose DFS visits 9, 12, 10, 9. Splicing into previous path: 5, 4, 1, 3, 2, 8, 9, 12, 10, 9, 6, 3, 7, 4, 11, 10, 7, 9, 3, 4, 10, 5. No more un-traversed edges, so above path is an Euler circuit.
23

Euler Circuit Algorithm

Implementation details
Maintain circuit as a linked list to support O(1) splicing Maintain index on adjacency lists to avoid repeated searches for un-traversed edges

Analysis
Each edge considered only once Running time is O(|E|+|V|)
24

DFS on Directed Graphs

Same algorithm Graph may be connected, but not strongly connected Still want the DF spanning forest to retain information about the search
DFS () ;; graph G=(V,E) foreach v in V if (! v.visited) then Visit (v) Visit (vertex v) v.visited = true foreach w adjacent to v if (! w.visited) then Visit (w) A B D C E

25

DF Spanning Forest
Three types of edges in DF spanning forest
Back edges linking a vertex to an ancestor Forward edges linking a vertex to a descendant Cross edges linking two unrelated vertices
Graph: A B D C E DF Spanning Forest: back B cross A D C
26

DF Spanning Forest

DF Spanning Forest cross back Graph back

(Note: DF Spanning Forests usually drawn with children and new trees added from left to right.)
27

forward

DFS on Directed Graphs

Applications
Test if directed graph is acyclic
Has no back edges

Topological sort
Reverse post-order traversal of DF spanning forest

28

Strongly-Connected Components
A graph is strongly connected if every vertex can be reached from every other vertex A strongly-connected component of a graph is a subgraph that is strongly connected Would like to detect if a graph is strongly connected Would like to identify strongly-connected components of a graph Can be used to identify weaknesses in a network General approach: Perform two DFSs
29

Strongly-Connected Components
Algorithm
Perform DFS on graph G
Number vertices according to a post-order traversal of the DF spanning forest

Construct graph Gr by reversing all edges in G Perform DFS on Gr

Always start a new DFS (initial call to Visit) at the highest-numbered vertex

Each tree in resulting DF spanning forest is a strongly-connected component

30

Strongly-Connected Components
Graph G Graph Gr

DF Spanning Forest of Gr Strongly-connected components: {G}, {H,I,J}, {B,A,C,F}, {D}, {E}

31

Strongly-Connected Components: Analysis

Correctness
If v and w are in a strongly-connected component Then there is a path from v to w and a path from w to v Therefore, there will also be a path between v and w in G and Gr

Running time
Two executions of DFS O(|E|+|V|)
32

Summary
Graphs one of the most important data structures Studied for centuries Numerous applications Some of the hardest problems to solve are graph problems
E.g., Hamiltonian (simple) cycle, Clique
33