Glossary: Data Structures and Algorithms in Java

DFS (depth-first search)

Also written: depth-first search, DFS

A graph search that goes as deep as possible down one road before backing up to try the next. It finds everything you can reach, often written recursively.

Where the book teaches it

Chapter 11: Graphs, BFS and DFS
Chapter 12: Project: a delivery-route planner

Related terms

BFS (breadth-first search)recursion visited set Big-O shapes (O(1), O(log n), O(n), O(n log n), O(n²), O(V + E))