Efficient semi-external depth-first search

Abstract

As graphs grow in size, many real-world graphs are difficult to load into the primary memory of a computer. Thus, computing depth-first search (DFS) results (i.e., depth-first order or DFS-Tree) on the semi-external memory model is important to investigate. Semi-external algorithms assume that the primary memory can at least hold a spanning tree T of a graph G and gradually restructure T into a DFS-Tree, which is nontrivial. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study for the semi-external DFS problem. Based on a theoretical analysis of this problem, we introduce a new semi-external DFS algorithm called EP-DFS with a lightweight index N+-index. Unlike traditional algorithms, we focus on addressing such a complex problem efficiently with fewer I/Os, simpler CPU calculations (implementation-friendly), and less random I/O accesses (key-to-efficiency). Extensive experimental evaluations are performed on both synthetic and real graphs, and experimental results confirm that the proposed EP-DFS algorithm markedly outperforms existing algorithms.