Grokking Algorithms

Chapter 7. Dijkstra’s algorithm

In this chapter

• We continue the discussion of graphs, and you learn about weighted graphs: a way to assign more or less weight to some edges.
• You learn Dijkstra’s algorithm, which lets you answer “What’s the shortest path to X?” for weighted graphs.
• You learn about cycles in graphs, where Dijkstra’s algorithm doesn’t work.

In the last chapter, you figured out a way to get from point A to point B.

It’s not necessarily the fastest path. It’s the shortest path, because it has the least number of segments (three segments). ...