Graph

A graph is a set of points, called nodes or vertices, which are interconnected by a set of lines
called edges.

Definition − A graph (denoted as G=(V,E) consists of a non-empty set of vertices or nodes V

and a set of edges E.
Example − Let us consider, a Graph is G=(V,E) where V={a,b,c,d} and E={{a,b},

{a,c},{b,c},{c,d}}

Degree of a Vertex − The degree of a vertex V of a graph G (denoted by deg (V)) is the
number of edges incident with the vertex V.

Vertex Degree Even / Odd

a 2 even

b 2 even

c 3 odd

d 1 odd

Even and Odd Vertex − If the degree of a vertex is even, the vertex is called an even vertex
and if the degree of a vertex is odd, the vertex is called an odd vertex.
Degree of a Graph − The degree of a graph is the largest vertex degree of that graph. For the
above graph the degree of the graph is 3.

The Handshaking Lemma − In a graph, the sum of all the degrees of all the vertices is equal to
twice the number of edges.

Types of Graphs
There are different types of graphs

Null Graph

A null graph has no edges. The null graph of n vertices is denoted by Nn

Simple Graph

A graph is called simple graph/strict graph if the graph is undirected and does not contain any
loops or multiple edges.

Multi-Graph

If in a graph multiple edges between the same set of vertices are allowed, it is called
Multigraph. In other words, it is a graph having at least one loop or multiple edges.
Directed and Undirected Graph

A graph G=(V,E) is called a directed graph if the edge set is made of ordered vertex pair and a
graph is called undirected if the edge set is made of unordered vertex pair.

Connected and Disconnected Graph

A graph is connected if any two vertices of the graph are connected by a path; while a graph is
disconnected if at least two vertices of the graph are not connected by a path. If a graph G is

disconnected, then every maximal connected subgraph of G is called a connected component of

the graph G.
Regular Graph
A graph is regular if all the vertices of the graph have the same degree. In a regular graph G of

degree r, the degree of each vertex of G is r.

Complete Graph
A graph is called complete graph if every two vertices pair are joined by exactly one edge. The

complete graph with n vertices is denoted by Kn

Cycle Graph
If a graph consists of a single cycle, it is called cycle graph. The cycle graph with n vertices is

denoted by Cn

Representation of Graphs
There are mainly two ways to represent a graph −

 Adjacency Matrix

 Adjacency List
Adjacency Matrix

An Adjacency Matrix A[V][V] is a 2D array of size V×V where V is the number of vertices

in a undirected graph. If there is an edge between Vx to Vy then the value of A[Vx]

[Vy]=1and A[Vy][Vx]=1, otherwise the value will be zero

Adjacency Matrix of an Undirected Graph

Let us consider the following undirected graph and construct the adjacency matrix −

Adjacency matrix of the above undirected graph will be −

a b c D

a 0 1 1 0

b 1 0 1 0

c 1 1 0 1

d 0 0 1 0

Adjacency Matrix of a Directed Graph

Let us consider the following directed graph and construct its adjacency matrix −

Adjacency matrix of the above directed graph will be −

a b c D

a 0 1 1 0

b 0 0 1 0

c 0 0 0 1

d 0 0 0 0

Isomorphism
If two graphs G and H contain the same number of vertices connected in the same way, they are

called isomorphic graphs (denoted by G≅H).

It is easier to check non-isomorphism than isomorphism. If any of these following conditions

occurs, then two graphs are non-isomorphic −
  The number of connected components are different

 Vertex-set cardinalities are different

 Edge-set cardinalities are different

 Degree sequences are different

Example

The following graphs are isomorphic −

Euler Graphs
A connected graph G is called an Euler graph, if there is a closed trail which includes every

edge of the graph G. An Euler path is a path that uses every edge of a graph exactly once. An
Euler path starts and ends at different vertices.
An Euler circuit is a circuit that uses every edge of a graph exactly once. An Euler circuit

always starts and ends at the same vertex. A connected graph G is an Euler graph if and only if

all vertices of G are of even degree, and a connected graph G is Eulerian if and only if its edge
set can be decomposed into cycles.
The above graph is an Euler graph as “a1b2c3d4e5c6f7g” covers all the edges of the graph.

Hamiltonian Graphs
A connected graph G is called Hamiltonian graph if there is a cycle which includes every vertex

of G and the cycle is called Hamiltonian cycle. Hamiltonian walk in graph G is a walk that
passes through each vertex exactly once.