Absolute Beginner's Guide to Algorithms: A Practical Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms in JavaScript

20

Depth-First Search (DFS) and Breadth-First Search (BFS)

When we look at graphs (or trees), we often see this nice collection of nodes with the entire structure fully mapped out (Figure 20-1).

FIGURE 20-1

Our example graph

In real-world scenarios, this fully mapped-out view is the final result of our code having fully explored the graph. When we encounter a graph for the first time, Figure 20-2 is what our computers see.

FIGURE 20-2

Exploring a graph at the beginning

It is an unknown, blank slate. We have to actively explore our graph ...