ASSOCIATE IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

DISCRETE STRUCTURE

Graphs - General Introduction

A graph G is a mathematical structure consisting of:
 Vertices (nodes): V, a set of elements (e.g., V={v1,v2,…,vn} ).
 Edges: E, a set of connections between vertices (e.g., E={(vi,vj)}).
Types of Graphs:
1. Undirected Graphs: Edges have no direction.
2. Directed Graphs (Digraphs): Edges have a direction.
3. Weighted Graphs: Edges have weights or costs associated with them.
4. Simple Graphs: No loops or multiple edges.
5. Multigraphs: Allow multiple edges between two vertices.
6. Complete Graphs: Every pair of vertices is connected by an edge.
Key Terms:
 Degree of a Vertex: Number of edges incident to it (in-degree and out-
degree for directed graphs).
 Subgraph: A subset of V and E that forms a graph.
 Path: A sequence of edges connecting vertices.
 Cycle: A path that starts and ends at the same vertex.

Data Structures for Graphs

Efficient representation of graphs is crucial for computations:
1. Adjacency Matrix:
 A 2D array A[i][j] where:
o A[i][j]=1 (or weight for weighted graphs) if there is an edge from i to j.
o Space complexity: O(V2)
o Suitable for dense graphs.
2. Adjacency List:
 An array of lists:
o Each index represents a vertex, and the list at that index stores adjacent
vertices.
o Space complexity: O(V+E)
o Preferred for sparse graphs.
3. Edge List:
 A list of all edges (u,v,w) (where w is the weight).
 Space complexity: O(E)
 Useful for algorithms like Kruskal’s.

Ericka Mae C. Sabaybay

Instructor
 ASSOCIATE IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
DISCRETE STRUCTURE

Connectivity
1. Connected Graphs:
 Undirected Graph: A graph is connected if there's a path between every pair
of vertices.
 Directed Graph:
o Strongly Connected: Path exists between every pair of vertices in both
directions.
o Weakly Connected: Path exists in at least one direction.
2. Components:
 Connected Component: A maximal subset of vertices such that every pair
within it is connected.
 Strongly Connected Component (SCC): A maximal subset of vertices such
that every pair within it has a bidirectional path.
Algorithms:
 DFS/BFS: To determine connectivity.
 Kosaraju’s Algorithm: To find SCCs in directed graphs.

Traversals - Eulerian and Hamiltonian Graphs

1. Eulerian Graph:
 Eulerian Path: Visits every edge exactly once.
 Eulerian Circuit: Eulerian Path that starts and ends at the same vertex.
 Conditions:
o Undirected graph:
 Eulerian Circuit: All vertices have an even degree.
 Eulerian Path: Exactly two vertices have odd degrees.
o Directed graph: Strongly connected and each vertex’s in-degree
equals out-degree.
2. Hamiltonian Graph:
 Hamiltonian Path: Visits every vertex exactly once.
 Hamiltonian Circuit: Hamiltonian Path that starts and ends at the same vertex.
 No General Theorem: Determining whether a Hamiltonian Path/Circuit exists is
NP-complete.

Graph Optimization
Optimization problems deal with finding the best solution under constraints:
1. Shortest Path Algorithms:
 Dijkstra’s Algorithm: Single-source shortest path (non-negative weights).
 Bellman-Ford Algorithm: Handles negative weights.
Ericka Mae C. Sabaybay
Instructor
 ASSOCIATE IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
DISCRETE STRUCTURE

 Floyd-Warshall Algorithm: All-pairs shortest paths.

2. Minimum Spanning Tree (MST):
 Prim’s Algorithm: Greedy algorithm to find MST.
 Kruskal’s Algorithm: Greedy algorithm using edge sorting.
3. Network Flow Problems:
 Maximum Flow: Ford-Fulkerson or Edmonds-Karp Algorithm.
 Min-Cut: Relates to Maximum Flow (Max-Flow Min-Cut Theorem).
4. Matching Problems:
 Bipartite Matching: Maximum matching in bipartite graphs (Hopcroft-Karp
Algorithm).
5. Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP):
 NP-hard optimization problem.
 Approximation algorithms: Nearest neighbor, Christofides.

Ericka Mae C. Sabaybay

Instructor
 ASSOCIATE IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
DISCRETE STRUCTURE

What is a Tree?
1.1 Definition:
 A tree is a connected, undirected graph with no cycles.
 Alternatively, a tree can be defined as:
o A graph with n vertices and n−1 edges that is acyclic and connected.
1.2 Properties of Trees:
1. Unique Path: Between any two vertices, there is exactly one path.
2. Connected and Acyclic: Trees are always connected and contain no cycles.
3. Edges and Vertices: If a tree has n vertices, it will have n−1 edges.
4. Subtrees: Removing any edge splits a tree into two disconnected subtrees.
5. Degree: Trees often feature nodes with varying degrees, from leaves (degree
1) to higher-degree nodes like roots.
1.3 Applications of Trees:
 Hierarchical Representation: File systems, organization charts.
 Data Structure Basis: Binary search trees (BST), heaps.
 Networking: Spanning trees in network design.
 Algorithms: Tree traversals, Huffman coding, etc.

Spanning Trees
2.1 Definition:
A spanning tree is a subgraph of a connected graph that:
 Includes all vertices of the original graph.
 Is a tree (connected and acyclic).
 Has n−1 edges, where n is the number of vertices in the graph.
2.2 Types of Spanning Trees:
1. Minimum Spanning Tree (MST):
o A spanning tree with the minimum possible sum of edge weights.
o Algorithms: Kruskal’s, Prim’s.
2. Maximum Spanning Tree:
o A spanning tree with the maximum possible sum of edge weights.
2.3 Properties:
1. Any connected graph can have multiple spanning trees.
2. A spanning tree preserves the graph's connectivity with no cycles.
2.4 Applications:
 Network Design: Minimizing cable/connection costs.
Ericka Mae C. Sabaybay
Instructor
 ASSOCIATE IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
DISCRETE STRUCTURE

 Cluster Analysis: Grouping data into clusters in machine learning.

 Electrical Circuits: Minimizing wiring in circuit layouts.

Rooted Trees
3.1 Definition:
A rooted tree is a tree with a designated root node, making the edges and vertices
hierarchical.
3.2 Terminology:
1. Root: The topmost node.
2. Parent and Child: A node connected above (parent) or below (child).
3. Leaf Nodes: Nodes with no children.
4. Internal Nodes: Nodes with at least one child.
5. Height: Length of the longest path from the root to a leaf.
6. Depth: Distance of a node from the root.
3.3 Properties:
1. The number of edges from the root to a node is the node’s depth.
2. Subtrees can be formed by choosing any node as the root.
3.4 Applications:
 Representing hierarchical data (e.g., organization charts).
 Search structures (e.g., binary search trees, tries).
 Parse trees in compilers.

Binary Trees
A binary tree is a rooted tree where every node has at most two children.
4.1 Types of Binary Trees:
1. Full Binary Tree:
o Every node has either 0 or 2 children.
o Total nodes: 2k−1, where k is the number of levels.
2. Complete Binary Tree:
o All levels are completely filled except possibly the last, filled from left to
right.
3. Perfect Binary Tree:
o A full binary tree with all leaves at the same depth.
4. Skewed Binary Tree:
o All nodes have only one child (either left or right).
5. Balanced Binary Tree:

Ericka Mae C. Sabaybay

Instructor
 ASSOCIATE IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
DISCRETE STRUCTURE

o Height difference between left and right subtrees is at most 1 for every
node.
4.2 Properties of Binary Trees:

1. Maximum nodes at level 𝑙: 2

2. Maximum nodes in a binary tree of height h: 2 −1

3. Minimum height for n nodes: ⌈𝑙𝑜𝑔 (𝑛 + 1)-1

4.3 Binary Tree Traversals:
1. Inorder (Left, Root, Right):
o Used in sorting binary search trees.
2. Preorder (Root, Left, Right):
o Used in expression trees and creating prefix expressions.
3. Postorder (Left, Right, Root):
o Used in evaluating expressions.
4. Level Order:
o Visits nodes level by level using a queue.
4.4 Applications of Binary Trees:
 Binary Search Trees (BST):
o Efficient for searching, insertion, and deletion O(logn) average case).
 Heaps:
o Used in priority queues and heapsort.
 Huffman Trees:
o Used for optimal data compression.
 Expression Trees:
o Represent algebraic expressions for evaluation.

Ericka Mae C. Sabaybay

Instructor