A* search algorithm in the context of Pathfinding

⭐ Core Definition: A* search algorithm

A* (pronounced "A-star") is a graph traversal and pathfinding algorithm that is used in many fields of computer science due to its completeness, optimality, and optimal efficiency. Given a weighted graph, a source node and a goal node, the algorithm finds the shortest path (with respect to the given weights) from source to goal.

One major practical drawback is its $O(b^{d})$ space complexity where $d$ is the depth of the shallowest solution (the length of the shortest path from the source node to any given goal node) and $b$ is the branching factor (the maximum number of successors for any given state), as it stores all generated nodes in memory. Thus, in practical travel-routing systems, it is generally outperformed by algorithms that can pre-process the graph to attain better performance, as well as by memory-bounded approaches; however, A* is still the best solution in many cases.

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A* search algorithm in the context of Asterisk

The asterisk (/ˈæstərɪsk/ *), from Late Latin asteriscus, from Ancient Greek ἀστερίσκος, asteriskos, "little star", is a typographical symbol.

An asterisk is usually five- or six-pointed in print and six- or eight-pointed when handwritten, though more complex forms exist. Its most common use is to call out a footnote. It is also often used to censor words considered offensive. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as star (as, for example, in the A* search algorithm or C*-algebra).

View the full Wikipedia page for Asterisk

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A* search algorithm in the context of Pathfinding

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⭐ Core Definition: A* search algorithm

A* search algorithm in the context of Asterisk