2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

Travelling Salesman Problem

Problem Statement
A traveler needs to visit all the cities from a list, where distances between all the cities are known and each city should be visited just
once. What is the shortest possible route that he visits each city exactly once and returns to the origin city?

Solution
Travelling salesman problem is the most notorious computational problem. We can use brute-force approach to evaluate every
possible tour and select the best one. For n number of vertices in a graph, there are (n - 1)! number of possibilities.

Instead of brute-force using dynamic programming approach, the solution can be obtained in lesser time, though there is no
polynomial time algorithm.

Let us consider a graph G = (V, E), where V is a set of cities and E is a set of weighted edges. An edge e(u, v) represents that
vertices u and v are connected. Distance between vertex u and v is d(u, v), which should be non-negative.

Suppose we have started at city 1 and after visiting some cities now we are in city j. Hence, this is a partial tour. We certainly need to
know j, since this will determine which cities are most convenient to visit next. We also need to know all the cities visited so far, so
that we don't repeat any of them. Hence, this is an appropriate sub-problem.

For a subset of cities S Є {1, 2, 3, ... , n} that includes 1, and j Є S, let C(S, j) be the length of the shortest path visiting each node in
S exactly once, starting at 1 and ending at j.

When |S| > 1, we define C(S, 1) = ∝ since the path cannot start and end at 1.
Now, let express C(S, j) in terms of smaller sub-problems. We need to start at 1 and end at j. We should select the next city in such a
way that

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 1/8
2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

C
C((S
S,, j
j)) =
= m
miin
nCC(
(SS −
−{{j
j}},, i
i))+
+dd(
(ii,, j
j))w
whhe
erre
eii ∈
∈ S
S a
annd
dii ≠
≠ j
jcc(
(SS,, j
j))

=
= m
miin
nCC(
(ss−
−{{j
j}},, i
i))+
+dd(
(ii,, j
j))w
whhe
erre
eii ∈
∈ S
S a
annd
dii ≠
≠ j
j

Algorithm: Traveling-Salesman-Problem
C ({1}, 1) = 0
for s = 2 to n do
for all subsets S Є {1, 2, 3, … , n} of size s and containing 1
C (S, 1) = ∞
for all j Є S and j ≠ 1
C (S, j) = min {C (S – {j}, i) + d(i, j) for i Є S and i ≠ j}
Return minj C ({1, 2, 3, …, n}, j) + d(j, i)

Analysis
There are at the most 2
n
n
2 .. n
n sub-problems and each one takes linear time to solve. Therefore, the total running time is

O
O((2
n
n
2 .. n
n )
)
2
2
.

Example
In the following example, we will illustrate the steps to solve the travelling salesman problem.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 2/8
2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

From the above graph, the following table is prepared.

1 2 3 4

1 0 10 15 20

2 5 0 9 10

3 6 13 0 12

4 8 8 9 0

S=Φ

C
Coos
stt(
(22,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=dd(
(22,, 1
1))=
=55C
Coos
stt(
(22,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=dd(
(22,, 1
1))=
=55

C
Coos
stt(
(33,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=dd(
(33,, 1
1))=
=66C
Coos
stt(
(33,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=dd(
(33,, 1
1))=
=66

C
Coos
stt(
(44,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=dd(
(44,, 1
1))=
=88C
Coos
stt(
(44,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=dd(
(44,, 1
1))=
=88

S=1
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 3/8
2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

C
Coos
stt(
(ii,, s
s))=
=mmi
inn{
{CCo
osst
t((j
j,, s
s––(
(jj)
)))+
+dd[[i
i,, j
j]]}
}CCo
osst
t((i
i,, s
s))=
=mmi
inn{
{CCo
osst
t((j
j,, s
s))−
−((j
j)))
)++d
d[[i
i,, j
j]]}
}

C
Coos
stt(
(22,, {
{33}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[2
2,, 3
3]] +
+CCo
osst
t((3
3,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=99+
+66=
= 15
15cco
osst
t((2
2,, {
{33}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[2
2,, 3
3]]

+
+cco
osst
t((3
3,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=99+
+66=
= 15
15

C
Coos
stt(
(22,, {
{44}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[2
2,, 4
4]] +
+CCo
osst
t((4
4,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
= 10
10 +
+88=
= 18
18cco
osst
t((2
2,, {
{44}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[2
2,, 4
4]]

+
+cco
osst
t((4
4,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
= 10
10 +
+88=
= 18
18

C
Coos
stt(
(33,, {
{22}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[3
3,, 2
2]] +
+CCo
osst
t((2
2,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
= 13
13 +
+55=
= 18
18cco
osst
t((3
3,, {
{22}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[3
3,, 2
2]]

+
+cco
osst
t((2
2,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
= 13
13 +
+55=
= 18
18

C
Coos
stt(
(33,, {
{44}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[3
3,, 4
4]] +
+CCo
osst
t((4
4,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
= 12
12 +
+88=
= 20
20cco
osst
t((3
3,, {
{44}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[3
3,, 4
4]]

+
+cco
osst
t((4
4,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
= 12
12 +
+88=
= 20
20

C
Coos
stt(
(44,, {
{33}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[4
4,, 3
3]] +
+CCo
osst
t((3
3,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=99+
+66=
= 15
15cco
osst
t((4
4,, {
{33}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[4
4,, 3
3]]

+
+cco
osst
t((3
3,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=99+
+66=
= 15
15

C
Coos
stt(
(44,, {
{22}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[4
4,, 2
2]] +
+CCo
osst
t((2
2,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=88+
+55=
= 13
13cco
osst
t((4
4,, {
{22}
},, 1
1))=
=dd[[4
4,, 2
2]]

+
+cco
osst
t((2
2,, Φ
Φ,, 1
1))=
=88+
+55=
= 13
13

S=2

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 4/8
2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

C
Coos
stt(
(22,, {
{33,, 4
4}},, 1
1))

⎧ d
⎧ d[[2
2,, 3
3]] +
+CCo
osst
t((3
3,, {
{44}
},, 1
1))=
=99+
+ 20
20 =
= 29
29

=
= ⎨
⎨ d
d[[2
2,, 4
4]] +
+C Co
osst
t((4
4,, {
{33}},, 1
1))== 10
10 +
+ 15
15 =
= 25
25 == 2525C Coos
stt(
(22,, {
{33,, 4
4}},, 1
1)) =
= 25
25
⎩
⎩
{
{dd[[2
2,, 3
3]] +
+cco
osst
t((3
3,, {
{44}},, 1
1))=
=9 9++ 20
20 =
= 29
29d
d[[2
2,, 4
4]] +
+CCo osst
t((44,, {
{33}},, 1
1))=
= 10
10 +
+ 15
15 =
= 25
25

C
Coos
stt(
(33,, {
{22,, 4
4}},, 1
1))

⎧ d
⎧ d[[3
3,, 2
2]] +
+CCo
osst
t((2
2,, {
{44}
},, 1
1))=
= 13
13 +
+ 18
18 =
= 31
31

=
= ⎨
⎨ d
d[[3
3,, 4
4]] +
+C Co
osst
t((4
4,, {
{22}},, 1
1))== 12
12 +
+ 13
13 == 25
25 =
= 2525C Co os
stt(
(33,, {
{22,, 4
4}},, 1
1))
⎩
⎩
{
{dd[[3
3,, 2
2]] +
+cco
osst
t((2
2,, {
{44}},, 1
1))=
= 13
13 +
+ 18
18 =
= 31
31d
d[[3
3,, 4
4]] +
+C Co osstt(
(44,, {
{22}},, 1
1))=
= 12
12 +
+ 13
13 =
= 25
25

=
= 25
25

C
Coos
stt(
(44,, {
{22,, 3
3}},, 1
1))

⎧ d
⎧ d[[4
4,, 2
2]] +
+CCo
osst
t((2
2,, {
{33}
},, 1
1))=
=88+
+ 15
15 =
= 23
23

=
= ⎨
⎨ d
d[[4
4,, 3
3]] +
+C Co
osst
t((3
3,, {
{22}},, 1
1))==99+
+ 18
18 =
= 27
27 =
= 2323C Co os
stt(
(44,, {
{22,, 3
3}},, 1
1)) =
= 23
23
⎩
⎩
{
{dd[[4
4,, 2
2]] +
+cco
osst
t((2
2,, {
{33}},, 1
1))=
=88+
+ 15
15 =
= 23
23d
d[[4
4,, 3
3]] +
+C Co osstt(
(33,, {
{22}},, 1
1))=
=99+
+ 18
18 =
= 27
27

S=3

C
Coos
stt(
(11,, {
{22,, 3
3,, 4
4}},, 1
1))

⎧
⎧ d
d[[1
1,, 2
2]] +
+CCoosstt(
(22,, {
{33,, 4
4}},, 1
1))=
= 10
10 +
+ 25
25 =
= 35
35
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ d
d[[1
1,, 3
3]] +
+CCoosstt(
(33,, {
{22,, 4
4}},, 1
1))=
= 15
15 +
+ 25
25 =
= 40
40
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
d
d[[1
1,, 4
4]] +
+CCo os
stt(
(44,, {
{22,, 3
3}},, 1
1))== 20
20 +
+ 23
23 =
= 43
43 =
= 35
35cco
osst
t((1
1,, {
{22,, 3
3,, 4
4}})
),, 1
1))
=
= ⎨
⎨
d[1, 2] + cost(2, {3, 4}, 1) = 10 + 25 = 35
⎪ d[1, 2] + cost(2, {3, 4}, 1) = 10 + 25 = 35
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪ d
⎪
⎪ d[[1
1,, 3
3]] +
+cco
osst
t((3
3,, {
{22,, 4
4}},, 1
1))= = 15
15 +
+ 25
25 =
= 40
40
⎪
⎪
⎩
⎪
⎩
⎪
d
d[[1
1,, 4
4]] +
+cco
osst
t((4
4,, {
{22,, 3
3}},, 1
1))= = 20
20 +
+ 23
23 =
= 43
43 =
= 35
35

The minimum cost path is 35.

Start from cost {1, {2, 3, 4}, 1}, we get the minimum value for d [1, 2]. When s = 3, select the path from 1 to 2 (cost is 10) then go
backwards. When s = 2, we get the minimum value for d [4, 2]. Select the path from 2 to 4 (cost is 10) then go backwards.
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 5/8
2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

When s = 1, we get the minimum value for d [4, 3]. Selecting path 4 to 3 (cost is 9), then we shall go to then go to s = Φ step. We get
the minimum value for d [3, 1] (cost is 6).

Useful Video Courses

Compiler Design Online Training

102 Lectures 10 hours

Arnab Chakraborty

More Detail

Video

Sequential Circuit Design

30 Lectures 3 hours

Arnab Chakraborty

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 6/8
2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

More Detail

Video

Design Patterns Online Training

31 Lectures 4 hours
Arnab Chakraborty

More Detail

Video

InDesign Online Training

43 Lectures 1.5 hours

More Detail

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 7/8
2/9/22, 10:21 AM Travelling Salesman Problem

Video

Canva: Become A Graphic Designer

7 Lectures 1 hours

Zach Miller

More Detail

Video

The Ultimate Canva Graphic Design Course

54 Lectures 4 hours
Sasha Miller

More Detail

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms/design_and_analysis_of_algorithms_travelling_salesman_problem.htm 8/8