Graph (data structure)

In computer science, a graph is an abstract data type that is meant to implement the graph and directed graph concepts from mathematics.

Description

A graph data structure consists of a finite (and possibly mutable) set of nodes or vertices, together with a set of ordered pairs of these nodes (or, in some cases, a set of unordered pairs).

These pairs are known as edges or arcs.

As in mathematics, an edge (x,y) is said to point or go from x to y.

The nodes may be part of the graph structure, or may be external entities represented by integer indices or references.

Edge values

A graph data structure may also associate to each edge some edge value, such as a symbolic label or a numeric attribute (cost, capacity, length, etc.).

See also

• Abstract data structure
• Computer science
• Data structure
• Directed graph
• Graph (mathematics)
• Mathematics
• Node (mathematics)

External links

• Graph (data structure) @ Wikipedia