Edge lists are really important for algorithms that help us travel through graphs. They give us an easy and effective way to show how different points, or vertices, in a graph connect to each other.

An edge list is just a list of edges. Each edge connects two vertices. For example, if we have lines connecting points A and B, and B and C, our edge list would look like this:

• (A, B)
• (B, C)

Why Edge Lists Are Good:

1. Easy to Understand: Edge lists are straightforward and simple to use, which is great for beginners.
2. Saves Space: If a graph has few connections, edge lists need less memory than other methods like adjacency matrices.

How to Use Edge Lists:

When you want to explore a graph using methods like Depth-First Search (DFS) or Breadth-First Search (BFS), edge lists can make it easier.

• DFS (Depth-First Search): You start at one point and try to go as far as you can down each path before coming back. Here, you look at the edge list to find connected vertices and put them onto a stack.

• BFS (Breadth-First Search): You do something similar, but you explore all the neighbors at each level before moving deeper. In this case, you would use the edge list to check each neighbor by using a queue.

In short, while there are different ways to show graphs, edge lists offer a compact and useful way that is key for using traversal algorithms.