Detecting cycles in a graph using DFS: 2 different approaches and what's the difference

Question

Note that a graph is represented as an adjacency list.

I've heard of 2 approaches to find a cycle in a graph:

Keep an array of boolean values to keep track of whether you visited a node before. If you run out of new nodes to go to (without hitting a node you have already been), then just backtrack and try a different branch.
The one from Cormen's CLRS or Skiena: For depth-first search in undirected graphs, there are two types of edges, tree and back. The graph has a cycle if and only if there exists a back edge.

Can somebody explain what are the back edges of a graph and what's the diffirence between the above 2 methods.

Thanks.

Update: Here's the code to detect cycles in both cases. Graph is a simple class that represents all graph-nodes as unique numbers for simplicity, each node has its adjacent neighboring nodes (g.getAdjacentNodes(int)):

public class Graph {

  private int[][] nodes; // all nodes; e.g. int[][] nodes = {{1,2,3}, {3,2,1,5,6}...};

  public int[] getAdjacentNodes(int v) {
    return nodes[v];
  }

  // number of vertices in a graph
  public int vSize() {
    return nodes.length;
  }

}

Java code to detect cycles in an undirected graph:

    public class DFSCycle {

    private boolean marked[];
    private int s;
    private Graph g;
    private boolean hasCycle;

    // s - starting node
    public DFSCycle(Graph g, int s) {
        this.g = g;
        this.s = s;
        marked = new boolean[g.vSize()];
        findCycle(g,s,s);
    }

    public boolean hasCycle() {
        return hasCycle;
    }

    public void findCycle(Graph g, int v, int u) {

        marked[v] = true;

        for (int w : g.getAdjacentNodes(v)) {
            if(!marked[w]) {
                marked[w] = true;
                findCycle(g,w,v);
            } else if (v != u) {
                hasCycle = true;
                return;
            }
        }

    }  
}

Java code to detect cycles in a directed graph:

public class DFSDirectedCycle {

    private boolean marked[];
    private boolean onStack[];
    private int s;
    private Graph g;
    private boolean hasCycle;

    public DFSDirectedCycle(Graph g, int s) {
        this.s = s
        this.g = g;
        marked = new boolean[g.vSize()];
        onStack = new boolean[g.vSize()];
        findCycle(g,s);
    }

    public boolean hasCycle() {
        return hasCycle;
    }

    public void findCycle(Graph g, int v) {

        marked[v] = true;
        onStack[v] = true;

        for (int w : g.adjacentNodes(v)) {
            if(!marked[w]) {
                findCycle(g,w);
            } else if (onStack[w]) {
                hasCycle = true;
                return;
            }
        }

        onStack[v] = false;
    }
}

I think there is a mistake in the ordered graph code. In case of traversing a graph in the shape of O, with the root on the top and with all the edges directed to bottom, this algorithm will detect cycle (firstly will traverse the left side of O to bottom and mark all nodes as marked, then the right part of O until I will get to bottom, which is already marked). I would add there marked[v]= false; just after findCycle(g,w); What do you think? — Matej Briškár
In DFSCycle the condition to check for cycle is incorrect. It should be if(i != u) // If an adjacent is visited and not parent of current vertex, then there is a cycle. { hasCycle = true; return; } — akhil_mittal
@IvanVoroshilin Shouldn't } else if (v != u) { be } else if (w != u) {? — Etherealone

Ivan Voroshilin Ivan Voroshilin · Accepted Answer · 2013-10-01T11:34:48

Answering my question:

The graph has a cycle if and only if there exists a back edge. A back edge is an edge that is from a node to itself (selfloop) or one of its ancestor in the tree produced by DFS forming a cycle.

Both approaches above actually mean the same. However, this method can be applied only to undirected graphs.

The reason why this algorithm doesn't work for directed graphs is that in a directed graph 2 different paths to the same vertex don't make a cycle. For example: A-->B, B-->C, A-->C - don't make a cycle whereas in undirected ones: A--B, B--C, C--A does.

Find a cycle in undirected graphs

An undirected graph has a cycle if and only if a depth-first search (DFS) finds an edge that points to an already-visited vertex (a back edge).

Find a cycle in directed graphs

In addition to visited vertices we need to keep track of vertices currently in recursion stack of function for DFS traversal. If we reach a vertex that is already in the recursion stack, then there is a cycle in the tree.

Update: Working code is in the question section above.

Detecting cycles in a graph using DFS: 2 different approaches and what's the difference

4 Answers