Graph Terminology Vertices Edges Directed Undirected Weighted in DSA Typescript - Build from Scratch

Graph Terminology: Vertices, Edges, Directed, Undirected, Weighted

📖 Scenario: Imagine you are creating a simple map of cities connected by roads. Each city is a point (vertex), and each road is a connection (edge) between cities. Some roads have directions (one-way), and some have distances (weights).

🎯 Goal: You will build a basic graph using TypeScript objects to represent cities and roads. You will mark if roads are one-way or two-way and add distances to roads.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a graph object with cities as keys and arrays of connected cities as values

Add a configuration variable to mark if the graph is directed or undirected

Add weights (distances) to the edges

Print the graph connections with directions and weights

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Graphs are used to model maps, social networks, computer networks, and many other connections in real life.

💼 Career

Understanding graph basics is important for software developers working on navigation apps, recommendation systems, and network analysis.

1

Create the graph with cities and roads

Create a variable called graph as an object with these exact entries: 'A': ['B', 'C'], 'B': ['C'], 'C': ['A']

DSA Typescript

// Your code here

Hint

Use an object where keys are city names and values are arrays of connected cities.

2

Add a variable to mark if the graph is directed

Create a boolean variable called isDirected and set it to true

DSA Typescript

const graph: { [key: string]: string[] } = {
  'A': ['B', 'C'],
  'B': ['C'],
  'C': ['A']
};
// Your code here

Hint

This variable will help us know if roads have directions or not.

3

Add weights (distances) to the edges

Create a variable called weightedGraph as an object where each city key maps to an array of objects with node and weight properties. Use these exact entries: 'A': [{ node: 'B', weight: 5 }, { node: 'C', weight: 10 }], 'B': [{ node: 'C', weight: 3 }], 'C': [{ node: 'A', weight: 1 }]

DSA Typescript

const graph: { [key: string]: string[] } = {
  'A': ['B', 'C'],
  'B': ['C'],
  'C': ['A']
};

const isDirected: boolean = true;
// Your code here

Hint

Use an object with arrays of objects to store connected nodes and their distances.

4

Print the graph connections with directions and weights

Use a for loop with variables city and edges to iterate over Object.entries(weightedGraph). Inside the loop, use another for loop with variables edge to iterate over edges. Print each connection in this exact format: "City A -> City B (Distance: 5)" using console.log

DSA Typescript

const graph: { [key: string]: string[] } = {
  'A': ['B', 'C'],
  'B': ['C'],
  'C': ['A']
};

const isDirected: boolean = true;

const weightedGraph: { [key: string]: { node: string; weight: number }[] } = {
  'A': [{ node: 'B', weight: 5 }, { node: 'C', weight: 10 }],
  'B': [{ node: 'C', weight: 3 }],
  'C': [{ node: 'A', weight: 1 }]
};

// Your code here

Hint

Use nested loops to print each road with its distance.

Practice

1. In a graph, what do we call the points or nodes where edges meet?

easy

A. Edges

B. Weights

C. Vertices

D. Paths

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand graph components

   A graph consists of points called nodes and connections called edges.

2. Step 2: Identify the term for nodes

   The points or nodes where edges meet are called vertices.

3. Final Answer:

   Vertices -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Nodes = Vertices [OK]

Hint: Nodes in graphs are called vertices [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing edges with vertices
• Thinking weights are nodes
• Mixing paths with nodes

2. Which of the following is the correct way to represent a weighted edge from vertex 1 to vertex 2 with weight 5 in TypeScript?

easy

A. const edge = { 1: 2, 5 };

B. const edge = [1, 2, 5];

C. const edge = (1, 2, 5);

D. const edge = { from: 1, to: 2, weight: 5 };

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand object syntax in TypeScript

   Objects use key-value pairs with curly braces and colons.

2. Step 2: Check each option's syntax

   const edge = { from: 1, to: 2, weight: 5 }; correctly uses keys 'from', 'to', and 'weight' with values. const edge = [1, 2, 5]; is an array, valid but less descriptive. const edge = (1, 2, 5); uses parentheses, invalid for object. const edge = { 1: 2, 5 }; has invalid syntax.

3. Final Answer:

   const edge = { from: 1, to: 2, weight: 5 }; -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Object with keys and values = const edge = { from: 1, to: 2, weight: 5 }; [OK]

Hint: Use curly braces and key:value pairs for objects [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using parentheses instead of braces
• Incorrect object key syntax
• Confusing arrays with objects

3. What will be the output of the following TypeScript code that creates a directed weighted graph and prints its edges?

type Edge = { from: number; to: number; weight: number };
const graph: Edge[] = [
  { from: 1, to: 2, weight: 3 },
  { from: 2, to: 3, weight: 4 },
  { from: 3, to: 1, weight: 5 }
];
for (const edge of graph) {
  console.log(`${edge.from} -> ${edge.to} (weight: ${edge.weight})`);
}

medium

A. 1 -> 2 (weight: 3)
2 -> 3 (weight: 4)
3 -> 1 (weight: 5)

B. 1 -> 2 (weight: 5)
2 -> 3 (weight: 3)
3 -> 1 (weight: 4)

C. 1 -> 3 (weight: 5)
2 -> 1 (weight: 4)
3 -> 2 (weight: 3)

D. Error: Invalid graph definition

Solution

1. Step 1: Read the graph array

   The graph array has edges: 1->2 with weight 3, 2->3 with weight 4, 3->1 with weight 5.

2. Step 2: Trace the for loop output

   The loop prints each edge in the format 'from -> to (weight: weight)'. So output matches 1 -> 2 (weight: 3) 2 -> 3 (weight: 4) 3 -> 1 (weight: 5) exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   1 -> 2 (weight: 3) 2 -> 3 (weight: 4) 3 -> 1 (weight: 5) -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Print edges as defined = 1 -> 2 (weight: 3) 2 -> 3 (weight: 4) 3 -> 1 (weight: 5) [OK]

Hint: Match printed edges exactly as in array order [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Mixing up weights and vertices
• Reversing edge directions
• Assuming syntax error

4. Identify the error in the following TypeScript code that tries to create an undirected weighted graph:

type Edge = { from: number; to: number; weight: number };
const graph: Edge[] = [
  { from: 1, to: 2, weight: 7 },
  { from: 2, to: 1, weight: 7 },
  { from: 2, to: 3, weight: 5 }
];
function addEdge(from: number, to: number, weight: number) {
  graph.push({ from, to, weight });
  graph.push({ from: to, to: from, weight });
}
addEdge(3, 4, 6);
console.log(graph.length);

medium

A. No error; graph length will be 5

B. Error: Duplicate edges cause conflict

C. Error: addEdge function pushes edges incorrectly

D. Error: graph array is immutable

Solution

1. Step 1: Count initial edges

   Initially, graph has 3 edges: 1->2, 2->1, 2->3.

2. Step 2: Analyze addEdge function call

   addEdge(3, 4, 6) pushes { from: 3, to: 4, weight: 6 } and { from: 4, to: 3, weight: 6 }, adding 2 more edges for undirected graph.

3. Step 3: Calculate final length

   3 initial + 2 added = 5. No errors occur; code runs successfully.

4. Final Answer:

   No error; graph length will be 5 -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   3 + 2 = 5 [OK]

Hint: Count edges before and after addEdge call [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming duplicate edges cause error
• Miscounting edges after push
• Thinking graph is immutable

5. You have a weighted undirected graph represented as an adjacency list in TypeScript:

const graph: Record = {
  1: [{ node: 2, weight: 4 }, { node: 3, weight: 1 }],
  2: [{ node: 1, weight: 4 }, { node: 3, weight: 2 }, { node: 4, weight: 5 }],
  3: [{ node: 1, weight: 1 }, { node: 2, weight: 2 }, { node: 4, weight: 8 }],
  4: [{ node: 2, weight: 5 }, { node: 3, weight: 8 }]
};

// How to find the total weight of edges connected to vertex 2?

Which code snippet correctly calculates the total weight of edges connected to vertex 2?

hard

A. const total = graph[2].map(edge => edge.weight).length;

B. const total = graph[2].reduce((sum, edge) => sum + edge.weight, 0);

C. const total = graph[2].filter(edge => edge.weight > 0);

D. const total = graph.reduce((sum, edges) => sum + edges.weight, 0);

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand adjacency list structure

   graph[2] is an array of edges connected to vertex 2, each with a weight property.

2. Step 2: Calculate total weight

   Use reduce to sum all edge weights in graph[2]. const total = graph[2].reduce((sum, edge) => sum + edge.weight, 0); correctly sums weights. const total = graph[2].map(edge => edge.weight).length; counts edges, not sum. const total = graph[2].filter(edge => edge.weight > 0); filters edges, no sum. const total = graph.reduce((sum, edges) => sum + edges.weight, 0); tries to reduce graph object, invalid.

3. Final Answer:

   const total = graph[2].reduce((sum, edge) => sum + edge.weight, 0); -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Sum weights with reduce = const total = graph[2].reduce((sum, edge) => sum + edge.weight, 0); [OK]

Hint: Use reduce to sum weights in adjacency list [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using map length instead of sum
• Filtering without summing
• Reducing wrong data structure