Algorithm to Group All the Cycles Together
- by Ngu Soon Hui
I have a lot of cycles ( indicated by numeric values, for example, 1-2-3-4 corresponds to a cycle, with 4 edges, edge 1 is {1:2}, edge 2 is {2:3}, edge 3 is {3,4}, edge 4 is {4,1}, and so on).
A cycle is said to be connected to another cycle if they share one and only one edge.
For example, let's say I have two cycles 1-2-3-4 and 5-6-7-8, then there are two cycle groups because these two cycles are not connecting to each other. If I have two cycles 1-2-3-4 and 3-4-5-6, then I have only one cycle group because these two cycles share the same edge.
What is the most efficient way to find all the cycle groups?