Bipartite Graph Code Explanation for Beginners
What is a Bipartite Graph?
A bipartite graph is like dividing people at a party into two groups where:
People in the same group don't know each other
People only know people from the other group
In technical terms: You can color all vertices with just two colors (BLACK and WHITE) such that no two
connected vertices have the same color.
Real-World Examples
Students and Classes: Students connect to classes they take, but students don't connect to other
students directly
Movies and Actors: Actors connect to movies they're in, but actors don't connect to other actors
directly
How the Code Works
1. Graph Structure
java
class Vertex {
String name; // Vertex name like "r", "s", "t"
String bipartiteColor; // "BLACK", "WHITE", or "UNCOLORED"
}
class Graph {
Map<String, Vertex> vertices; // All vertices
Map<String, List<String>> adjList; // Who connects to whom
}
2. Main Algorithm Steps
Step 1: Try to Color the Graph
Start with any vertex, color it BLACK
Color all its neighbors WHITE
Color all their neighbors BLACK
Continue until done or find a conflict
Step 2: Check for Conflicts
Conflict: Two connected vertices have the same color
If conflict found → Graph is NOT bipartite
If no conflicts → Graph IS bipartite
Step 3: Fix the Graph (if needed)
Remove edges that cause conflicts
Keep checking and removing until bipartite
3. Key Methods Explained
isBipartite()
Purpose: Check if graph can be colored with 2 colors
How: Uses BFS (Breadth-First Search) to try coloring
Returns: true if possible, false if conflicts found
bfsColoringCheck()
Purpose: The actual coloring process
Process:
1. Start with one vertex → color BLACK
2. Put it in a queue
3. Take vertex from queue
4. Color all its uncolored neighbors with opposite color
5. If neighbor already has same color → CONFLICT!
6. Repeat until queue is empty
makeBipartite()
Purpose: Force the graph to become bipartite
Process:
1. Check if already bipartite
2. If not, find conflicting edges
3. Remove those edges
4. Check again (might reveal new conflicts)
5. Repeat until bipartite
4. Why Multiple Iterations?
Imagine this graph: A-B-C-A (triangle)
Try to color: A=BLACK, B=WHITE, C=BLACK
Problem: A and C are both BLACK but connected!
Remove edge A-C
Now it's bipartite: A(BLACK) - B(WHITE) - C(BLACK)
But complex graphs might have multiple triangles or odd cycles, so we need to keep checking after each
removal.
5. The Output Explained
Starting BFS coloring from vertex: r
Colored vertex s with color WHITE
✗ CONFLICT found: vertices t and u both have color BLACK
Removing edge: t -- u
✓ Graph is now BIPARTITE!
BLACK vertices: r t x
WHITE vertices: s v w u y
This means:
Found a conflict between t and u (both BLACK)
Removed the edge connecting t and u
Final result: No BLACK vertex connects to another BLACK vertex, same for WHITE
6. Key Programming Concepts Used
HashMap: Fast lookup of vertices by name
ArrayList: Store lists of neighbors for each vertex
Queue: For BFS traversal (first-in, first-out)
BFS (Breadth-First Search): Visit all neighbors before going deeper
7. Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
1. Forgetting undirected edges: If A connects to B, then B connects to A
2. Not handling disconnected components: Graph might have separate parts
3. Single-pass conflict detection: Removing one edge might reveal other conflicts
4. Infinite loops: Always have a maximum iteration limit
8. Time Complexity
Checking bipartite: O(V + E) where V = vertices, E = edges
Making bipartite: O(k × (V + E)) where k = number of iterations needed
Summary
This code takes any graph and:
1. Checks if it's already bipartite (2-colorable)
2. Identifies problematic edges that prevent bipartite coloring
3. Removes those edges systematically
4. Verifies the result is indeed bipartite
The end result is always a bipartite graph where vertices are cleanly divided into two groups (BLACK and
WHITE) with connections only between groups, never within groups.
