Scribd
Upload
4 views4 pages

Best-First Search Algorithm: o o o o o

Best-First Search (BFS) is a graph traversal algorithm that prioritizes exploring the most promising nodes based on a heuristic function, making it suitable for applications like AI and game development. The report discusses the algorithm's structure, variations such as Greedy Best-First Search and A*, and highlights the importance of heuristic functions in optimizing search efficiency. While BFS is effective for pathfinding, it may not always yield optimal solutions unless combined with cost functions.

Uploaded by

Dibyajyoti Jana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
4 views4 pages

Best-First Search Algorithm: o o o o o

Best-First Search (BFS) is a graph traversal algorithm that prioritizes exploring the most promising nodes based on a heuristic function, making it suitable for applications like AI and game development. The report discusses the algorithm's structure, variations such as Greedy Best-First Search and A*, and highlights the importance of heuristic functions in optimizing search efficiency. While BFS is effective for pathfinding, it may not always yield optimal solutions unless combined with cost functions.

Uploaded by

Dibyajyoti Jana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

❖ Best-First Search Algorithm

Contents:

o Abstract
o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusions
o Bibliography
Abstract:
Best-First Search (BFS) is a graph traversal and search algorithm that explores a
graph by expanding the most promising node according to a specified heuristic.
It combines features of both depth-first and breadth-first search algorithms. BFS
is often used in pathfinding and graph traversal applications like artificial
intelligence, game development, and network routing. This report delves into
the BFS algorithm's working, variations, implementation, and performance
analysis, emphasizing the role of heuristic functions in optimizing search
results. A detailed discussion, accompanied by charts and mathematical
explanations, highlights the impact of BFS on search efficiency.

Introduction:
Graph traversal is a fundamental problem in computer science, where one
explores nodes in a graph by moving from one vertex to another through edges.
BFS, a greedy algorithm, always chooses to explore the most promising node
based on a heuristic that estimates the cost or desirability of that node. BFS's
primary objective is to search for a specific goal while minimizing
computational resources and time.

Discussion:
➢ Algorithm Description:
The Best-First Search algorithm expands the most promising node, which is
determined by the heuristic function h(n) . The steps of the algorithm are
outlined as follows:
1. Initialize the open list (priority queue) with the start node.
2. Initialize the closed list as empty.
3. While the open list is not empty:
• Remove the node with the lowest h(n) value from the open list.
• If this node is the goal, return success and reconstruct the path.
Otherwise, expand the node:
• For each neighbor, calculate the heuristic h(n), and if it is not in the closed
list, add it to the open list.
4. Add the expanded node to the closed list to mark it as visited.
The priority queue orders nodes by their heuristic values, ensuring that nodes
closer to the goal are explored first.

➢ Heuristic Function:
The heuristic function h(n) plays a crucial role in BFS. It estimates the cost
from node n to the goal. Commonly used heuristics include:
Euclidean distance: For spatial graphs where straight-line distance is a
reasonable estimate.
Manhattan distance: For grid-based graphs where movement is restricted to
horizontal and vertical directions.

➢ Complexity Analysis:
The complexity of BFS is determined by the structure of the graph and the
effectiveness of the heuristic function:
Time Complexity: The time complexity is O(b^d), where b is the branching
factor (average number of successors per state) and d is the depth of the goal
node. This is similar to that of Breadth-First Search, but the heuristic can reduce
unnecessary exploration.
Space Complexity: BFS requires memory to store all nodes in the open and
closed lists. This can lead to high space complexity in large graphs.
In a worst-case scenario, the algorithm might behave like an exhaustive search
if the heuristic is poorly designed or uninformative.

➢ Variations of BFS:
Greedy Best-First Search: Focuses on the node that appears to be closest to the
goal without considering the total cost. This often results in faster but
suboptimal solutions.
A Algorithm*: Combines the heuristic function with the actual cost g(n) to form
a complete and optimal algorithm: f(n) = g(n) + h(n)
This modification ensures that the algorithm finds the shortest path while still
using a heuristic to guide its exploration.

Conclusions:
Best-First Search is an effective algorithm for solving complex pathfinding
problems when equipped with an informative heuristic function. While not
guaranteed to find the optimal solution on its own, it can be made optimal by
incorporating cost functions (as in A*). BFS is particularly useful in real-time
systems, where minimizing computation time is more critical than finding the
perfect solution.

Bibliography:
Russell, S. J., & Norvig, P. (2021). Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach
(4th ed.). Pearson.
Cormen, T. H., Leiserson, C. E., Rivest, R. L., & Stein, C. (2009). Introduction
to Algorithms (3rd ed.). MIT Press.
Pearl, J. (1984). Heuristics: Intelligent Search Strategies for Computer Problem
Solving. Addison-Wesley.

You might also like