A* Algorithm: Conceptual
Lesson 1 of 2
  1. 1
    Dijkstra's Isn't Always the Best...
    Dijkstra’s algorithm is great for finding the shortest distance from a start vertex to all other vertices in the graph. However, it is not the best when we are just looking for the shortest distanc…
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  2. 2
    What is A*?
    Rather than simply checking the distance up to the current vertex, we will check the distance up to the current vertex + the estimated distance from the current vertex to the end vertex. We call t…
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  3. 3
    Runtime of A*
    In A*, we have a goal vertex. Thus, the algorithm is optimized such that in most graphs, every vertex will NOT be searched, so let’s think about how fast this algorithm runs. Take a look at t…
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  4. 4
    Review of A*
    - The A* algorithm is a greedy graph search algorithm that optimizes looking for a target vertex. - A* is a modification of Dijkstra’s done by adding the estimated distance of each vertex to the …
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