Book Image

Python Data Structures and Algorithms

By : Benjamin Baka
Book Image

Python Data Structures and Algorithms

By: Benjamin Baka

Overview of this book

Data structures allow you to organize data in a particular way efficiently. They are critical to any problem, provide a complete solution, and act like reusable code. In this book, you will learn the essential Python data structures and the most common algorithms. With this easy-to-read book, you will be able to understand the power of linked lists, double linked lists, and circular linked lists. You will be able to create complex data structures such as graphs, stacks and queues. We will explore the application of binary searches and binary search trees. You will learn the common techniques and structures used in tasks such as preprocessing, modeling, and transforming data. We will also discuss how to organize your code in a manageable, consistent, and extendable way. The book will explore in detail sorting algorithms such as bubble sort, selection sort, insertion sort, and merge sort. By the end of the book, you will learn how to build components that are easy to understand, debug, and use in different applications.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Title Page
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface
5
Stacks and Queues
7
Hashing and Symbol Tables

Graphs


A graph is a set of vertices and edges that form connections between the vertices. In a more formal approach, a graph G is an ordered pair of a set V of vertices and a set E of edges given as G = (V, E) in formal mathematical notation.

An example of a graph is given here:

Let's now go through some definitions of a graph:

  • Node or vertex: A point, usually represented by a dot in a graph. The vertices or nodes are A, B, C, D, and E.
  • Edge: This is a connection between two vertices. The line connecting A and B is an example of an edge.
  • Loop: When an edge from a node is incident on itself, that edge forms a loop.
  • Degree of a vertex: This is the number of vertices that are incident on a given vertex. The degree of vertex B is 4.
  • Adjacency: This refers to the connection(s) between a node and its neighbor. The node C is adjacent to node A because there is an edge between them.
  • Path: A sequence of vertices where each adjacent pair is connected by an edge.