For Students · Graph Traversal
Graph Traversal for a subway map
Built for students learning it for a class or exam. See the concept move instead of memorizing formulas — and check your homework intuition. Simulate a subway map live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.
Graph Traversal (BFS / DFS)Live
breadth vs depth
Controls
The two ways to explore a graph. Breadth-first search fans out level by level using a queue, visiting all near nodes before far ones — ideal for shortest paths. Depth-first search plunges as deep as possible using a stack, backtracking when stuck — ideal for cycle detection and topological sorting. Watch the numbered visit order differ.
Data Inspector
ModeBFS
Structurequeue (FIFO)
Nodes9
Governing equation
Reading this result: BFS uses a FIFO queue, so it fully visits every node at distance 1 before any at distance 2 — that level-by-level order is exactly why it finds shortest paths in unweighted graphs.
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Frequently asked questions
- Is this good for students?
- Yes — this version of "Graph Traversal for a subway map" is framed for students learning it for a class or exam. See the concept move instead of memorizing formulas — and check your homework intuition.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. It runs in any modern browser, free, with no account required.