What is a Cyclic vs Acyclic Graph?

Difficulty: 5/10

cycle detection, graph representation, dependency management

Cyclic and Acyclic Graphs

A cyclic graph contains at least one path that starts and ends at the same vertex without repeating edges or, in the standard simple-cycle definition, vertices. An acyclic graph contains no cycles. Directed acyclic graphs are called DAGs and are particularly useful for dependency modeling.

javascript

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A cycle represents a closed path.
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Undirected trees are connected acyclic graphs.
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DAG means Directed Acyclic Graph.
4
Cycle detection depends on whether the graph is directed or undirected.

Scenario Questions

0-2 years experience

2-5 years experience

1Our build system started failing after a new module was added. Walk me through how you'd debug whether a cyclic dependency introduced the failure.

Follow-up Questions