Breadth First Search Shortest Path in C

Algorithms: Graph Algorithms November 15, 2026 C

BFS explores an unweighted graph one distance layer at a time.

c
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#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <errno.h>
// Breadth First Search Shortest Path in C
//
// PURPOSE
// BFS explores an unweighted graph one distance layer at a time. The first discovery of a
// vertex gives its shortest number of edges from the source.
//
// METHOD
// Put the source into a FIFO queue and mark its distance zero. Remove vertices in order and
// enqueue each undiscovered neighbor with distance one greater. Mark on enqueue so each
// vertex enters at most once.
//
// COMPLEXITY
// O(n squared) time with this adjacency matrix and O(n) auxiliary space. An adjacency-list
// implementation is O(V+E).
//
// CONTRACT
// graph is a flattened n by n 0/1 adjacency matrix, n >= 1, source and target are valid
// vertices. Directed edges are supported. Returns distance or -1.
// Public APIs infer array lengths except in C, which accepts pointer/length pairs. Vertex
// counts and matrix dimensions remain explicit. Arrays must contain signed 32-bit integers.
// Sorted order, correct tree topology, and caller-owned data-structure invariants are
// preconditions; checking them on every query would change query complexity.
// Scalar and shape checks are included. Value-range checks are included where needed to
// prevent invalid indexing or nontermination. Allocation sizes are capped at 4,000,000
// workspace entries. Arithmetic outside Python raises an error on 32-bit overflow; Python
// uses arbitrary precision. Native allocation failures propagate. In-place outputs may be
// partly updated after arithmetic failure. These are single-threaded, in-memory
// implementations.
//
// LANGUAGE DETAILS
// C99: checked calloc/free workspace, const input pointers, explicit size_t lengths. Errors
// return INT_MIN with errno=EINVAL, ERANGE, or ENOMEM. Check errno before using a result.
// Input/output arrays must not alias. No variable-length stack arrays.
//
// EXAMPLE
// Expected return: 2.
// Run: gcc -std=c99 -O2 example.c -o example && ./example
// Tests for this exact source artifact run before publication. The accompanying source
// archive includes unit cases, runtime results, and source hashes.

static int alg_min(int a, int b) { return a < b ? a : b; }
static int alg_max(int a, int b) { return a > b ? a : b; }
static int alg_checked(int64_t v, int *error) {
    if (v < INT_MIN || v > INT_MAX) { *error = 1; return 0; }
    return (int)v;
}
static int alg_add(int a, int b, int *e) { return alg_checked((int64_t)a+b,e); }
static int alg_sub(int a, int b, int *e) { return alg_checked((int64_t)a-b,e); }
static int alg_mul(int a, int b, int *e) { return alg_checked((int64_t)a*b,e); }

int bfs_distance(const int *graph, size_t graph_length, int n, int source, int target) {
    int alg_error = 0;
    int alg_result = INT_MIN;
    errno = 0;
    int *distance = NULL;
    int *queue = NULL;
    if (graph_length > 1000000 || (graph_length && !graph)) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((n >= 0) && (n <= 1000000)))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((int)graph_length == alg_mul(n, n, &alg_error)))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((n >= 1) && (source >= 0) && (source < n)))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((target >= 0) && (target < n)))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    {
        int alg_length = n;
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (alg_length < 0 || alg_length > 4000000) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        distance = calloc((size_t)(alg_length ? alg_length : 1), sizeof(*distance));
        if (!distance) { errno = ENOMEM; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    {
        int alg_length = n;
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (alg_length < 0 || alg_length > 4000000) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        queue = calloc((size_t)(alg_length ? alg_length : 1), sizeof(*queue));
        if (!queue) { errno = ENOMEM; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    int v = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int u = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int head = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int tail = 1;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    while (1) {
        int alg_condition = (v < n);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (!alg_condition) break;
        distance[v] = alg_sub(0, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        v = alg_add(v, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    distance[source] = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    queue[0] = source;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    while (1) {
        int alg_condition = (head < tail);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (!alg_condition) break;
        u = queue[head];
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        head = alg_add(head, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        v = 0;
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        while (1) {
            int alg_condition = (v < n);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (!alg_condition) break;
            int alg_condition_1 = ((graph[alg_add(alg_mul(u, n, &alg_error), v, &alg_error)] != 0) && (distance[v] == alg_sub(0, 1, &alg_error)));
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (alg_condition_1) {
                distance[v] = alg_add(distance[u], 1, &alg_error);
                if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
                queue[tail] = v;
                if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
                tail = alg_add(tail, 1, &alg_error);
                if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            }
            v = alg_add(v, 1, &alg_error);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        }
    }
    alg_result = distance[target];
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    goto alg_cleanup;
alg_cleanup:
    free(distance);
    free(queue);
    return alg_result;
}

int main(void) {
    int graph[] = {0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0};
    int n = 3;
    int source = 0;
    int target = 2;
    int result = bfs_distance(graph, 9, n, source, target);
    printf("%d\n", result);
    if (errno) { perror("algorithm"); return 1; }
    return 0;
}