Introduction to Graphs

Welcome to a new post on 'In My Own Words', where we take on programming concepts and make them simple for the every-day learner. With easy-to-follow examples and explanations in plain language, join me on my journey to understand the world of programming. Let's get started!

Today we will be talking about Graphs! A common data structure used to solve a ton of different problems.

Now what is a graph?

A graph is a data structure (an organized way to store information) that has vertices and edges. Now, those are some complicated words. Instead, let's refer to "nodes" as "dots" and "edges" as "connections" or "lines".

A simple way to grasp the concept of a graph is to think of the childhood game "Connect the Dots". Just as in the game, a graph consists of points or nodes connected by lines or edges, creating a network of relationships between the nodes. This network can then be used to solve a variety of real-world problems and serves as the foundation of many crucial algorithms.

A graph is a visual representation of information and the relationships between it. For instance, you and your followers on Instagram can be represented as points, and the fact that they follow you is represented as a connection between those dots. The connection represents the relationship or interaction, in this case, following on Instagram.

What are graphs useful for?

Have you ever wondered how Google Maps shows us the location of everything and provides us with routes that follow actual roads instead of a straight line path? They use graphs! Landmarks and intersections are represented as dots, and roads, streets, and highways are represented as connections. What we see as the map is just a satellite image of the Earth. The actual mapping happens beneath the image.

When you ask the Google Maps app for directions from your current location to a destination, it first finds the two locations in the graph data structure where they are stored. Then, it runs an algorithm to find the shortest path between the two dots. In simple terms, Google Maps uses graphs to understand how different places are connected and then creates a path by connecting those dots in the most efficient way.

Graphs are a powerful data structure that has many practical applications in the real world. In the coming days, we will delve into some of the numerous algorithms related to graphs. I hope you found this informative and now have a clearer understanding of graph data structures. Thank you for reading!