Basic search algorithms in Python

• Main Author: Ye, Xiaomeng
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: SPIE 13.10.2022
• ISBN: 1510655867; 9781510655867
• ISSN: 0277-786X
• DOI: 10.1117/12.2640473

The research is mainly about the Python implementation of three basic algorithms: Depth-First Search, Breadth-First Search and A* Search. Besides, the paper introduces some of the auxiliary knowledge and theories: the four criteria for measuring algorithms, three kinds of queues, and grid-based simulation. While other coding languages like C++ and Java may focus on algorithm more and may have lots of templates and other solved works, Python seem not to focus so much on this, and OOP (object-oriented programming) is the major topic of high-level Python coding. Thus, constructing algorithms and mapping (or simulating real-world situations) indeed become a challenge.In this work, two simulations are made by generating classes: 1. grid-based world 2. graph and vertex. Grid based world introduces coordinates and heuristic functions, which constructs the environment suitable for greedy algorithms. Graph and vertex use nodes to represent different states in the of the world, and using frontier-based search, the nodes will be explored step by step from the initial state until the goal state is reached. After the environment and algorithms are constructed, finally, analysis for the three algorithms are presented in the conclusion part according to the criteria mentioned.