Algorithms For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10

Discovering Graph Secrets

IN THIS CHAPTER

Seeing social networks in graph form

Interacting with graph content

Chapter 8 helps you understand the foundations of graphs as they apply to mathematics. Chapter 9 increases your knowledge by helping you see the relationship of graphs to algorithms. This chapter helps you focus on applying the theories of these previous two chapters to interact with graphs in practical ways.

The first section conveys the character of social networks by using graphs. It considers the importance of connections created by social networks. For example, conversation analysis can reveal patterns that help you understand the underlying topic better than simply reading the conversations would do. A particular conversation branch might attract greater attention because it’s more important than another conversation branch. Of course, you must perform this analysis while dealing with issues such as spam. Analysis of this sort can lead to all sorts of interesting conclusions, such as where to spend more advertising money to attract the most attention and, therefore, sales.

The second section looks at navigating graphs to achieve specific results. For example, when driving, you might need to know the best route to take between two points given that, even ...