In the vast realm of computer science and algorithms, there are numerous ways to solve problems and navigate through data structures. One such algorithmic technique that plays a fundamental role in graph traversal is known as breadth-first search (BFS). Breadth-first search is a simple yet powerful algorithm that systematically explores a graph or tree in a breadthward motion, covering all vertices at the same level before moving to the next level.
The Concept Behind Breadth-First Search
Breadth-first search operates on the principle of visiting neighboring vertices before exploring the deeper levels of the graph. It starts at a given source vertex and explores all of its adjacent vertices, then moves on to the next level of vertices until all reachable vertices have been visited. This process ensures that vertices closer to the source are visited before exploring those at deeper levels.