(definition)
Definition: A path through a graph that starts and ends at the same vertex and includes every other vertex exactly once.
Also known as tour.
Generalization (I am a kind of ...)
cycle.
Specialization (... is a kind of me.)
traveling salesman.
See also Hamiltonian path, Euler cycle, vehicle routing problem, perfect matching.
Note: Named for Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865) (a longer biography). A Hamiltonian cycle includes each vertex once; an Euler cycle includes each edge once.
Also known as a Hamiltonian circuit.
Author: PEB
If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul E. Black.
Entry modified 8 November 2010.
HTML page formatted Tue Dec 6 16:16:32 2011.
Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "Hamiltonian cycle", in
Dictionary of Algorithms and Data
Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed.,
U.S. National Institute of
Standards and Technology. 8 November 2010. (accessed TODAY)
Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/hamiltonianCycle.html
