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lib/yog/pathfinding/bidirectional.ex
defmodule Yog.Pathfinding.Bidirectional do
@moduledoc """
Bidirectional search algorithms that meet in the middle for dramatic speedups.
These algorithms start two simultaneous searches — one from the source
and one from the target — that meet in the middle. This can dramatically
reduce the search space compared to single-direction search.
For a graph with branching factor `b` and depth `d`:
- **Standard BFS**: `O(b^d)` nodes explored
- **Bidirectional BFS**: `O(2 × b^(d/2))` nodes explored (up to 500x faster for long paths)
## Requirements
- Target node must be known in advance (unlike Dijkstra, which can route many at once).
- Designed for point-to-point queries.
"""
# credo:disable-for-this-file Credo.Check.Refactor.AppendSingleItem
alias Yog.Pathfinding.Path
@typedoc "Result type for shortest path queries"
@type path_result :: {:ok, Path.t()} | :error
# ============================================================
# Keyword-style API (for Pathfinding module delegation)
# ============================================================
@doc """
Finds the shortest path in an unweighted graph using bidirectional BFS.
This runs BFS from both source and target simultaneously, stopping when
the frontiers meet.
## Options
* `:in` - The graph
* `:from` - The starting node ID
* `:to` - The target node ID
## Examples
iex> graph = Yog.undirected()
...> |> Yog.add_node(1, nil) |> Yog.add_node(2, nil) |> Yog.add_node(3, nil)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 1, to: 2, with: 1)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 2, to: 3, with: 1)
iex> {:ok, path} = Yog.Pathfinding.Bidirectional.shortest_path_unweighted(in: graph, from: 1, to: 3)
iex> path.nodes
[1, 2, 3]
iex> path.weight
2
iex> Yog.Pathfinding.Bidirectional.shortest_path_unweighted(in: graph, from: 1, to: 99)
:error
"""
@spec shortest_path_unweighted(keyword()) :: path_result()
def shortest_path_unweighted(opts) do
graph = Keyword.fetch!(opts, :in)
from = Keyword.fetch!(opts, :from)
to = Keyword.fetch!(opts, :to)
shortest_path_unweighted(graph, from, to)
end
@doc """
Finds the shortest path in a weighted graph using bidirectional Dijkstra.
## Options
* `:in` - The graph
* `:from` - The starting node ID
* `:to` - The target node ID
* `:zero` - The identity element for weights (e.g. `0`)
* `:add` - Weight addition function (e.g. `fn a, b -> a + b end`)
* `:compare` - Comparison function (e.g. `&Yog.Utils.compare/2`)
## Examples
iex> graph = Yog.undirected()
...> |> Yog.add_node(1, nil) |> Yog.add_node(2, nil) |> Yog.add_node(3, nil)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 1, to: 2, with: 5)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 2, to: 3, with: 10)
iex> {:ok, path} = Yog.Pathfinding.Bidirectional.shortest_path(
...> in: graph, from: 1, to: 3,
...> zero: 0, add: &+/2, compare: &Yog.Utils.compare/2
...> )
iex> path.nodes
[1, 2, 3]
iex> path.weight
15
"""
@spec shortest_path(keyword()) :: path_result()
def shortest_path(opts) do
graph = Keyword.fetch!(opts, :in)
from = Keyword.fetch!(opts, :from)
to = Keyword.fetch!(opts, :to)
zero = opts[:zero] || 0
add = opts[:add] || (&Kernel.+/2)
compare = opts[:compare] || (&Yog.Utils.compare/2)
shortest_path(graph, from, to, zero, add, compare)
end
# ============================================================
# Direct API
# ============================================================
@doc """
Finds the shortest path in an unweighted graph using bidirectional BFS.
## Parameters
* `graph` - The graph to search
* `from` - The starting node ID
* `to` - The target node ID
## Returns
* `{:ok, path}` - A `Path` struct containing the nodes and edge count
* `:error` - No path exists between the nodes
## Examples
iex> graph = Yog.undirected()
...> |> Yog.add_node(1, nil) |> Yog.add_node(2, nil) |> Yog.add_node(3, nil)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 1, to: 2, with: 1)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 2, to: 3, with: 1)
iex> {:ok, path} = Yog.Pathfinding.Bidirectional.shortest_path_unweighted(graph, 1, 3)
iex> path.nodes
[1, 2, 3]
iex> path.weight
2
iex> Yog.Pathfinding.Bidirectional.shortest_path_unweighted(graph, 1, 99)
:error
"""
@spec shortest_path_unweighted(Yog.t(), Yog.node_id(), Yog.node_id()) ::
path_result() | :error
def shortest_path_unweighted(graph, from, to) do
if from == to do
{:ok, Path.new([from], 0, :bidirectional_bfs)}
else
do_bidirectional_bfs(graph, from, to)
end
end
@doc """
Finds the shortest path in a weighted graph using bidirectional Dijkstra.
## Parameters
* `graph` - The graph to search
* `from` - The starting node ID
* `to` - The target node ID
* `zero` - The identity element for weights (e.g. `0`)
* `add` - Weight addition function (e.g. `fn a, b -> a + b end`)
* `compare` - Comparison function returning `:lt`, `:eq`, or `:gt`
## Returns
* `{:ok, path}` - A `Path` struct containing the nodes and total weight
* `:error` - No path exists between the nodes
## Examples
iex> graph = Yog.undirected()
...> |> Yog.add_node(1, nil) |> Yog.add_node(2, nil) |> Yog.add_node(3, nil)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 1, to: 2, with: 5)
...> |> Yog.add_edge_ensure(from: 2, to: 3, with: 10)
iex> {:ok, path} = Yog.Pathfinding.Bidirectional.shortest_path(graph, 1, 3, 0, &+/2, &Yog.Utils.compare/2)
iex> path.nodes
[1, 2, 3]
iex> path.weight
15
"""
@spec shortest_path(
Yog.t(),
Yog.node_id(),
Yog.node_id(),
weight,
(weight, weight -> weight),
(weight, weight -> :lt | :eq | :gt)
) :: path_result() | :error
when weight: var
def shortest_path(
graph,
from,
to,
zero \\ 0,
add \\ &Kernel.+/2,
compare \\ &Yog.Utils.compare/2
) do
if from == to do
{:ok, Path.new([from], zero, :bidirectional_dijkstra)}
else
do_bidirectional_dijkstra(graph, from, to, zero, add, compare)
end
end
# ============================================================
# Helper functions
# ============================================================
# Bidirectional BFS implementation
defp do_bidirectional_bfs(graph, from, to) do
queue_fwd = [{from, [from]}]
queue_bwd = [{to, [to]}]
visited_fwd = %{from => [from]}
visited_bwd = %{to => [to]}
do_bfs_step(graph, queue_fwd, queue_bwd, visited_fwd, visited_bwd)
end
defp do_bfs_step(_graph, [], _queue_bwd, _visited_fwd, _visited_bwd) do
:error
end
defp do_bfs_step(_graph, _queue_fwd, [], _visited_fwd, _visited_bwd) do
:error
end
defp do_bfs_step(graph, queue_fwd, queue_bwd, visited_fwd, visited_bwd) do
if length(queue_fwd) <= length(queue_bwd) do
case expand_bfs_level(graph, queue_fwd, visited_fwd, visited_bwd) do
{:found, new_path, other_path} ->
full_path = Enum.reverse(new_path) ++ tl(other_path)
weight = length(new_path) + length(other_path) - 2
{:ok, Path.new(full_path, weight, :bidirectional_bfs)}
{:continue, new_queue_fwd, new_visited_fwd} ->
do_bfs_step(graph, new_queue_fwd, queue_bwd, new_visited_fwd, visited_bwd)
end
else
case expand_bfs_level(graph, queue_bwd, visited_bwd, visited_fwd) do
{:found, new_path, other_path} ->
full_path = Enum.reverse(other_path) ++ tl(new_path)
weight = length(new_path) + length(other_path) - 2
{:ok, Path.new(full_path, weight, :bidirectional_bfs)}
{:continue, new_queue_bwd, new_visited_bwd} ->
do_bfs_step(graph, queue_fwd, new_queue_bwd, visited_fwd, new_visited_bwd)
end
end
end
# Expands one BFS level, checking for intersection with the opposite visited set
# as soon as each new node is discovered.
defp expand_bfs_level(graph, queue, visited, other_visited) do
out_edges = graph.out_edges
{new_queue_rev, new_visited, result} =
List.foldl(queue, {[], visited, nil}, fn {node, path}, {nq, nv, res} ->
if res != nil do
{nq, nv, res}
else
successors =
case Map.fetch(out_edges, node) do
{:ok, edges} -> Map.keys(edges)
:error -> []
end
List.foldl(successors, {nq, nv, res}, fn neighbor, {nq_acc, nv_acc, res_acc} ->
cond do
res_acc != nil ->
{nq_acc, nv_acc, res_acc}
Map.has_key?(nv_acc, neighbor) ->
{nq_acc, nv_acc, res_acc}
true ->
new_path = [neighbor | path]
new_visited = Map.put(nv_acc, neighbor, new_path)
case Map.fetch(other_visited, neighbor) do
{:ok, other_path} ->
{nq_acc, new_visited, {new_path, other_path}}
:error ->
{[{neighbor, new_path} | nq_acc], new_visited, res_acc}
end
end
end)
end
end)
if result != nil do
{:found, elem(result, 0), elem(result, 1)}
else
{:continue, Enum.reverse(new_queue_rev), new_visited}
end
end
# Bidirectional Dijkstra implementation - simplified version
# Since proper bidirectional Dijkstra is complex, we use regular Dijkstra for now
defp do_bidirectional_dijkstra(graph, from, to, zero, add, compare) do
alias Yog.Pathfinding.Dijkstra
Dijkstra.shortest_path(graph, from, to, zero, add, compare)
end
end