Kruskal's algorithm

Kruskal's algorithm is a greedy algorithm to find a minimum spanning tree in a weighted, undirected graph. Joseph Kruskal first described it in 1956:

Perform the following step as many times as possible: Among the edges (..) not yet chosen, choose the shortest edge, which does not form any loops with those edges already chosen

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In this case, the shortest edge is the one with the lowest weight.

Example

Download the example data. Archived 2012-07-16 at the Wayback Machine

Image	Description
	AD and CE are the shortest edges, with length 5, and AD has been arbitrarily chosen, so it is highlighted.
	CE is now the shortest edge that does not form a cycle, with length 5, so it is highlighted as the second edge.
	The next edge, DF with length 6, is highlighted using much the same method.
	The next-shortest edges are AB and BE, both with length 7. AB is chosen arbitrarily, and is highlighted. The edge BD has been highlighted in red, because there already exists a path (in green) between B and D, so it would form a cycle (ABD) if it were chosen.
	The process continues to highlight the next-smallest edge, BE with length 7. Many more edges are highlighted in red at this stage: BC because it would form the loop BCE, DE because it would form the loop DEBA, and FE because it would form FEBAD.
	Finally, the process finishes with the edge EG of length 9, and the minimum spanning tree is found.

Kruskal's Algorithm Media

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  A demo for Kruskal's algorithm to find minimum spanning tree on a 2D plane.