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Depth-first search (DFS) is an algorithm for traversing or searching tree or graph data structures. The algorithm starts at the root node (selecting some arbitrary node as the root node in the case of a graph) and explores as far as possible along each branch before backtracking.
Breadth-first search (BFS) is an algorithm for searching a tree data structure for a node that satisfies a given property. It starts at the tree root and explores all nodes at the present depth prior to moving on to the nodes at the next depth level.
The classic textbook example of the use of backtracking is the eight queens puzzle, that asks for all arrangements of eight chess queens on a standard chessboard so that no queen attacks any other. In the common backtracking approach, the partial candidates are arrangements of k queens in the first k rows of the board, all in different rows and ...
A breadth-first search (BFS) is another technique for traversing a finite graph. BFS visits the sibling vertices before visiting the child vertices, and a queue is used in the search process. This algorithm is often used to find the shortest path from one vertex to another.
By contrast, a breadth-first search will never reach the grandchildren, as it seeks to exhaust the children first. A more sophisticated analysis of running time can be given via infinite ordinal numbers ; for example, the breadth-first search of the depth 2 tree above will take ω ·2 steps: ω for the first level, and then another ω for the ...
Some hobbyists have developed computer programs that will solve Sudoku puzzles using a backtracking algorithm, which is a type of brute force search. [3] Backtracking is a depth-first search (in contrast to a breadth-first search), because it will completely explore one branch to a possible solution before moving to another branch.
As given above this algorithm involves deep recursion which may cause stack overflow issues on some computer architectures. The algorithm can be rearranged into a loop by storing backtracking information in the maze itself. This also provides a quick way to display a solution, by starting at any given point and backtracking to the beginning.
Breadth-first search can be viewed as a special-case of Dijkstra's algorithm on unweighted graphs, where the priority queue degenerates into a FIFO queue. The fast marching method can be viewed as a continuous version of Dijkstra's algorithm which computes the geodesic distance on a triangle mesh.