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## Sets
- [ ] Union Find
- [x] Union Find
- [ ] Bloom filter
- [ ] HyperLogLog
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# Disjoint-Set (Union-Find) — Visual Explanations
A disjoint-set structure tracks a collection of elements split into
non-overlapping groups. It answers one question extremely fast:
> **"Are these two elements in the same group?"**
while allowing groups to be merged at any time.
Only two operations exist:
| Operation | Meaning |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `Find(x)` | Which group does `x` belong to? (returns the group's _root_) |
| `Union(a, b)` | Merge the groups containing `a` and `b` |
Two elements are in the same group **iff** `Find(a) == Find(b)`.
---
## 1. How groups are stored: parent pointers
There is no list of groups anywhere. Each element stores exactly one
thing: **its parent**. A group is a tree, and the tree's **root** (the
one element that is its own parent) acts as the group's name.
```
parent array: index: 0 1 2 3 4 5
value: [0, 0, 1, 3, 3, 5]
```
This array encodes three trees, i.e. three groups:
```
0 3 5
/ |
1 4
|
2
{0,1,2} {3,4} {5}
```
- `parent[0] == 0` → 0 is a root (its own parent)
- `parent[2] == 1`, `parent[1] == 0` → 2's chain leads to root 0
- The **shape** of the tree carries no meaning. Only "which root do
you reach" matters. This fact is what makes path compression legal.
### Fresh initialization
`New(6)` makes every element its own root — six groups of one:
```
parent: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
0 1 2 3 4 5 (six separate trees)
```
---
## 2. Find — walking to the root
`Find(4)` on the arrangement above:
```
3
|
4 ← start here, parent[4] = 3
```
Walk: `4 → 3`. `parent[3] == 3`, so 3 is the root. `Find(4)` returns 3.
`Find` never compares values or searches anything — it only follows
parent links upward until it finds a node that points at itself.
---
## 3. Union — root adoption
`Union(a, b)` does **not** link `a` and `b` directly. It:
1. finds the **root** of each,
2. points one root at the other.
Example: `Union(2, 4)` on our three trees.
```
Step 1: Find(2) → root 0 Find(4) → root 3
Step 2: point root 3 at root 0
BEFORE AFTER
0 3 0
/ | / | \
1 4 1 . 3
| | |
2 2 4
parent: [0,0,1,3,3,5] parent: [0,0,1,0,3,5]
only ONE value changed: parent[3]
```
One write merged the entire groups: every element under 3 now reaches
root 0, because their chains pass through 3.
### Why roots, never elements directly
If `Union(2, 4)` had set `parent[4] = 2` (element to element):
```
0
|
1
|
2
|
4 ← chain keeps growing with every careless union
```
Chains are the enemy: `Find` cost equals chain length. Linking
root-to-root keeps trees shallow; the next two techniques keep them
_very_ shallow.
---
## 4. Union by rank — shorter tree goes under taller
When merging two roots, we get to choose who adopts whom. The rule:
**attach the shorter tree under the taller root.**
```
Tall tree T (height 3) Short tree S (height 1)
T S
/|\ |
. . . s
|
.
```
Option A — short under tall (what we do):
```
T height stays 3
/|\ \ (S sits at depth 1, reaches depth 2 ≤ 3)
. . . S
| |
. s
```
Option B — tall under short (what we avoid):
```
S height becomes 4!
| \ (the whole tall tree got pushed one level deeper)
s T
/|\
. . .
|
.
```
Each root stores a `rank` — an upper bound on its tree height — used
only for this comparison. The one growth case: when both trees have
**equal** rank, the merged tree is necessarily one taller, so the
winning root's rank increments. Ranks never decrease, and ranks of
non-roots become stale garbage that is simply never read again.
With union by rank alone, tree height stays ≤ log n.
---
## 5. Path compression — Find repairs the tree as a side effect
The key idea: **`Find` is not a read-only query.** While answering
"what is x's root?", it rewires every node it walked past to point
_directly_ at that root. The walk happens once; afterwards those nodes
answer in a single hop.
### Worked example
A degenerate chain (parent: `[1, 2, 3, 4, 4]`):
```
4 ← root
3
2
1
0 ← Find(0) starts here: 4 hops to the root
```
Call `Find(0)`. It walks `0 → 1 → 2 → 3 → 4`, learns the root is 4,
and on the way back **overwrites each node's parent with 4**:
```
BEFORE parent: [1, 2, 3, 4, 4] AFTER parent: [4, 4, 4, 4, 4]
4 4
↑ ↗ ↑ ↑ ↖
3 0 1 2 3
2 ONE call to Find(0) flattened
↑ the entire chain into a star.
1
0
```
Nothing about membership changed — all five elements are still one
group with root 4. But the _next_ `Find(0)` is 1 hop instead of 4.
The expensive walk prepaid for every future query on this path.
### Why this is legal
Because the tree shape is not information (section 1). Any shape that
preserves "everyone reaches root 4" is equivalent, so `Find` is free
to pick the flattest one.
### The two-pass mechanics
You can't write the answer before you know it. So:
```
Pass 1 (read-only): walk up from x, discover the root.
4 ← found it
3
↑ nothing written yet;
2 the chain is still intact
1
0 ← started here
Pass 2 (writes): re-walk the same chain from x,
paving each parent link with the root.
visit 0: parent[0] = 4
visit 1: parent[1] = 4
visit 2: parent[2] = 4
visit 3: parent[3] = 4 (was already 4)
```
```go
func (uf *UnionFind) Find(element int) int {
// Pass 1: find the root (read-only)
root := element
for uf.parent[root] != root {
root = uf.parent[root]
}
// Pass 2: point everyone on the path at the root
current := element
for uf.parent[current] != root {
next := uf.parent[current] // where the old chain goes
uf.parent[current] = root // pave over it
current = next
}
return root
}
```
The recursive version hides the same two phases: calls going _down_
are pass 1; the assignments while unwinding are pass 2.
### Path halving — one-pass variant
Instead of two passes, skip each node to its **grandparent** while
walking. The path halves in length on every traversal:
```
BEFORE AFTER ONE Find(0)
4 4
↑ ↑ ↑
3 3 2
↑ ↑ ↑
2 (…) 0 ← 0 skipped over 1
↑ ↑
1 every node now points
↑ at its old grandparent
0
```
```go
func (uf *UnionFind) Find(element int) int {
for uf.parent[element] != element {
uf.parent[element] = uf.parent[uf.parent[element]] // skip to grandparent
element = uf.parent[element]
}
return element
}
```
Less thorough per call, but repeated calls flatten just as fast, and
it's the shortest non-recursive form — the common choice in practice.
---
## 6. Cost: why it's nearly free
| Variant | Cost per operation |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| Naive (no rank, no compression) | O(n) worst case — chains |
| Union by rank only | O(log n) |
| Rank **+** path compression | **amortized O(α(n))** |
α is the inverse Ackermann function: **α(n) ≤ 4 for any n that fits
in the physical universe.** Effectively constant.
"Amortized" matters: one `Find` on a fresh tall tree can still cost
O(log n) — but that call flattens the path, making future calls
1-hop. Averaged over any operation sequence, each costs α(n).
```
Find(0) #1 on a 1,000,000-chain: ~1,000,000 hops (pays)
Find(0) #2: 1 hop (collects)
Find(500000): 1 hop (collects)
```
Compare with re-running BFS/DFS per connectivity query: O(n) _every_
time, with no memory of previous work. For q queries that's O(q·n) vs
Union-Find's O(q·α(n)) — the entire reason this structure exists.
---
## 7. Mental model: lazy signposts
You're at house 0 looking for the town hall. Each house only knows
"ask next door." You walk 0 → 1 → 2 → 3 → 4; house 4 says "I'm the
town hall." On your way back you update every signpost you passed:
```
before: [→1] [→2] [→3] [→4] [HALL]
after: [→4] [→4] [→4] [→4] [HALL]
```
Nobody ever does the long walk again. `Find` = asking directions and
fixing the signs; `Union` = one town hall deferring to another.
---
## 8. Cheat sheet
- A group = a tree; the root = the group's identity.
- `parent[x] == x` ⟺ x is a root.
- `Union` links **root to root**, never element to element.
- Tree shape carries no meaning → compression is always safe.
- `rank` is internal balancing bookkeeping, only valid on roots — not
a ranking of your data.
- Merges only — no splitting. If you need "un-union", this is the
wrong structure.
- `Union` returning false = "already connected" = **cycle detected**
(this is the heart of Kruskal's algorithm).
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package tests
import (
"testing"
"datastructures/sets"
)
// --- NewUnionFind ---
func TestNewUnionFindStartsFullyDisjointed(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(8)
if got := uf.Disjointed(); got != 8 {
t.Errorf("expected 8 disjoint sets initially, got %d", got)
}
}
func TestNewUnionFindEachNodeIsOwnRoot(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(5)
for i := 1; i <= 5; i++ {
if root := uf.Find(i); root != i {
t.Errorf("expected node %d to be its own root, got %d", i, root)
}
}
}
func TestNewUnionFindNothingIsUnionedYet(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(5)
for a := 1; a <= 5; a++ {
for b := 1; b <= 5; b++ {
if a == b {
continue
}
if uf.IsUnion(a, b) {
t.Errorf("expected %d and %d to be disjoint initially", a, b)
}
}
}
}
// --- Union ---
func TestUnionReturnsTrueOnMerge(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(3)
if !uf.Union(1, 2) {
t.Error("expected Union(1,2) to return true on a fresh merge")
}
}
func TestUnionReturnsFalseWhenAlreadyJoined(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(3)
uf.Union(1, 2)
if uf.Union(1, 2) {
t.Error("expected Union(1,2) to return false when already in the same set")
}
}
func TestUnionReturnsFalseTransitively(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(3)
uf.Union(1, 2)
uf.Union(2, 3)
// 1 and 3 are now connected through 2
if uf.Union(1, 3) {
t.Error("expected Union(1,3) to return false (connected via 2)")
}
}
func TestUnionDecrementsDisjointedCount(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(4)
uf.Union(1, 2) // 4 -> 3
uf.Union(3, 4) // 3 -> 2
if got := uf.Disjointed(); got != 2 {
t.Errorf("expected 2 disjoint sets, got %d", got)
}
}
func TestUnionRedundantDoesNotDecrement(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(4)
uf.Union(1, 2)
uf.Union(1, 2) // redundant, must not change the count
if got := uf.Disjointed(); got != 3 {
t.Errorf("expected 3 disjoint sets after a redundant union, got %d", got)
}
}
func TestUnionIsSymmetric(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(2)
uf.Union(2, 1)
if !uf.IsUnion(1, 2) {
t.Error("expected Union(2,1) to connect 1 and 2 regardless of argument order")
}
}
// --- IsUnion / Find ---
func TestIsUnionTrueAfterMerge(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(3)
uf.Union(1, 2)
if !uf.IsUnion(1, 2) {
t.Error("expected 1 and 2 to be in the same set after Union")
}
}
func TestIsUnionTransitive(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(4)
uf.Union(1, 2)
uf.Union(2, 3)
if !uf.IsUnion(1, 3) {
t.Error("expected 1 and 3 to be connected through 2")
}
if uf.IsUnion(1, 4) {
t.Error("expected 4 to remain disjoint from the {1,2,3} set")
}
}
func TestFindSharedRootAfterChain(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(5)
// build a chain 1-2-3-4-5
uf.Union(1, 2)
uf.Union(2, 3)
uf.Union(3, 4)
uf.Union(4, 5)
root := uf.Find(1)
for i := 2; i <= 5; i++ {
if uf.Find(i) != root {
t.Errorf("expected node %d to share root %d, got %d", i, root, uf.Find(i))
}
}
}
func TestFindIsIdempotent(t *testing.T) {
uf := sets.NewUnionFind(4)
uf.Union(1, 2)
uf.Union(2, 3)
first := uf.Find(1)
// path compression runs on the first call; the answer must not drift
if second := uf.Find(1); first != second {
t.Errorf("expected Find to be stable, got %d then %d", first, second)
}
}
// --- Scenario: the island/network example from main.go ---
func TestNetworkIslands(t *testing.T) {
cables := [][2]int{
{0, 1}, {1, 2}, // island A: 0-1-2
{3, 4}, // island B: 3-4
{5, 6}, {6, 7}, {5, 7}, // island C: 5-6-7 (redundant cable)
}
network := sets.NewUnionFind(8)
for _, c := range cables {
network.Union(c[0], c[1])
}
if got := network.Disjointed(); got != 3 {
t.Errorf("expected 3 islands, got %d", got)
}
if !network.IsUnion(0, 2) {
t.Error("expected 0 and 2 to be on the same island")
}
if network.IsUnion(0, 4) {
t.Error("expected 0 (island A) and 4 (island B) to be on different islands")
}
if !network.IsUnion(5, 7) {
t.Error("expected 5 and 7 to be on the same island despite the redundant cable")
}
}