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