An Equivalence Relation
An alternative way to define connected components involves the equivalence classes of an equivalence relation that is defined on the vertices of the graph. In an undirected graph, a vertex v is reachable from a vertex u if there is a path from u to v. In this definition, a single vertex is counted as a path of length zero, and the same vertex may occur more than once within a path. Reachability is an equivalence relation, since:
- It is reflexive: There is a trivial path of length zero from any vertex to itself.
- It is symmetric: If there is a path from u to v, the same edges form a path from v to u.
- It is transitive: If there is a path from u to v and a path from v to w, the two paths may be concatenated together to form a path from u to w.
The connected components are then the induced subgraphs formed by the equivalence classes of this relation.
Read more about this topic: Connected Component (graph Theory)
Famous quotes containing the word relation:
“Parents ought, through their own behavior and the values by which they live, to provide direction for their children. But they need to rid themselves of the idea that there are surefire methods which, when well applied, will produce certain predictable results. Whatever we do with and for our children ought to flow from our understanding of and our feelings for the particular situation and the relation we wish to exist between us and our child.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)