Bio::Coordinate::Graph(3pm)				User Contributed Perl Documentation			       Bio::Coordinate::Graph(3pm)

NAME

       Bio::Coordinate::Graph - Finds shortest path between nodes in a graph

SYNOPSIS

	 # get a hash of hashes representing the graph. E.g.:
	 my $hash= {
		    '1' => {
			    '2' => 1
			   },
		    '2' => {
			    '4' => 1,
			    '3' => 1
			   },
		    '3' => undef,
		    '4' => {
			    '5' => 1
			   },
		    '5' => undef
		   };

	 # create the object;
	 my $graph = Bio::Coordinate::Graph->new(-graph => $hash);

	 # find the shortest path between two nodes
	 my $a = 1;
	 my $b = 6;
	 my @path = $graph->shortest_paths($a);
	 print join (", ", @path), "
";

DESCRIPTION

       This class calculates the shortest path between input and output coordinate systems in a graph that defines the relationships between them.
       This class is primarely designed to analyze gene-related coordinate systems. See Bio::Coordinate::GeneMapper.

       Note that this module can not be used to manage graphs.

       Technically the graph implemented here is known as Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG). DAG is composed of vertices (nodes) and edges (with
       optional weights) linking them. Nodes of the graph are the coordinate systems in gene mapper.

       The shortest path is found using the Dijkstra's algorithm. This algorithm is fast and greedy and requires all weights to be positive. All
       weights in the gene coordinate system graph are currently equal(1) making the graph unweighted. That makes the use of Dijkstra's algorithm
       an overkill. A simpler and faster breadth-first would be enough. Luckily the difference for small graphs is not significant and the
       implementation is capable of taking weights into account if needed at some later time.

   Input format
       The graph needs to be primed using a hash of hashes where there is a key for each node. The second keys are the names of the downstream
       neighboring nodes and values are the weights for reaching them. Here is part of the gene coordiante system graph::

	   $hash = {
		    '6' => undef,
		    '3' => {
			    '6' => 1
			   },
		    '2' => {
			    '6' => 1,
			    '4' => 1,
			    '3' => 1
			   },
		    '1' => {
			    '2' => 1
			   },
		    '4' => {
			    '5' => 1
			   },
		    '5' => undef
		   };

       Note that the names need to be positive integers. Root should be '1' and directness of the graph is taken advantage of to speed
       calculations by assuming that downsream nodes always have larger number as name.

       An alternative (shorter) way of describing input is to use hash of arrays. See Bio::Coordinate::Graph::hash_of_arrays.

FEEDBACK

   Mailing Lists
       User feedback is an integral part of the evolution of this and other Bioperl modules. Send your comments and suggestions preferably to the
       Bioperl mailing lists  Your participation is much appreciated.

	 bioperl-l@bioperl.org			- General discussion
	 http://bioperl.org/wiki/Mailing_lists	- About the mailing lists

   Support
       Please direct usage questions or support issues to the mailing list:

       bioperl-l@bioperl.org

       rather than to the module maintainer directly. Many experienced and reponsive experts will be able look at the problem and quickly address
       it. Please include a thorough description of the problem with code and data examples if at all possible.

   Reporting Bugs
       report bugs to the Bioperl bug tracking system to help us keep track the bugs and their resolution.  Bug reports can be submitted via the
       web:

	 https://redmine.open-bio.org/projects/bioperl/

AUTHOR - Heikki Lehvaslaiho
       Email:  heikki-at-bioperl-dot-org

APPENDIX

       The rest of the documentation details each of the object methods. Internal methods are usually preceded with a _

   Graph structure input methods
   graph
	Title	: graph
	Usage	: $obj->graph($my_graph)
	Function: Read/write method for the graph structure
	Example :
	Returns : hash of hashes grah structure
	Args	: reference to a hash of hashes

   hash_of_arrays
	Title	: hash_of_arrays
	Usage	: $obj->hash_of_array(%hasharray)
	Function: An alternative method to read in the graph structure.
		  Hash arrays are easier to type. This method converts
		  arrays into hashes and assigns equal values "1" to
		  weights.

	Example : Here is an example of simple structure containing a graph.

		  my $DAG = {
			     6	=> [],
			     5	=> [],
			     4	=> [5],
			     3	=> [6],
			     2	=> [3, 4, 6],
			     1	=> [2]
			    };

	Returns : hash of hashes graph structure
	Args	: reference to a hash of arrays

   Methods for determining the shortest path in the graph
   shortest_path
	Title	: shortest_path
	Usage	: $obj->shortest_path($a, $b);
	Function: Method for retrieving the shortest path between nodes.
		  If the start node remains the same, the method is sometimes
		  able to use cached results, otherwise it will recalculate
		  the paths.
	Example :
	Returns : array of node names, only the start node name if no path
	Args	: name of the start node
		: name of the end node

   dijkstra
	Title	: dijkstra
	Usage	: $graph->dijkstra(1);
	Function: Implements Dijkstra's algorithm.
		  Returns or sets a list of mappers. The returned path
		  description is always directed down from the root.
		  Called from shortest_path().
	Example :
	Returns : Reference to a hash of hashes representing a linked list
		  which contains shortest path down to all nodes from the start
		  node. E.g.:

		   $res = {
			     '2' => {
				      'prev' => '1',
				      'dist' => 1
				    },
			     '1' => {
				      'prev' => undef,
				      'dist' => 0
				    },
			   };

	Args	: name of the start node

perl v5.14.2							    2012-03-02					       Bio::Coordinate::Graph(3pm)