Algorithms For Dummies

Explaining the Importance of Networks

A network is a kind of graph that associates names with the vertexes (nodes or 

points), edges (arcs or lines), or both. Associating names with the graph features 

reduces the level of abstraction and makes understanding the graph easier. The 

data that the graph models becomes real in the mind of the person viewing it, 

even though the graph truly is an abstraction of the real world put into a form that 

both humans and computers can understand in different ways. The following sec-

tions help you understand the importance of networks better so that you can see 

how their use in this book simplifies the task of discovering how algorithms work 

and how you can benefit from their use.