Disjoint Set Union in C

Algorithms: Graph Algorithms November 15, 2026 C

Disjoint set union maintains connected components as a forest of parent links.

c
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#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <errno.h>
// Disjoint Set Union in C
//
// PURPOSE
// Disjoint set union maintains connected components as a forest of parent links. Union by
// size and path compression keep repeated operations nearly constant in amortized time.
//
// METHOD
// Start with each vertex as its own component. Find each edge endpoint root with path
// halving. If roots differ, attach the smaller tree to the larger and decrease the component
// count.
//
// COMPLEXITY
// O(n + m alpha(n)) amortized time and O(n) auxiliary space, where alpha is the inverse
// Ackermann function.
//
// CONTRACT
// n >= 0; edge arrays u_edges and v_edges have m valid vertex indices each. Treats edges as
// undirected. Returns component count; isolated vertices count separately.
// 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 component_count(const int *u_edges, size_t u_edges_length, const int *v_edges, size_t v_edges_length, int n) {
    int alg_error = 0;
    int alg_result = INT_MIN;
    errno = 0;
    int *parent = NULL;
    int *size = NULL;
    if (u_edges_length > 1000000 || (u_edges_length && !u_edges)) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (v_edges_length > 1000000 || (v_edges_length && !v_edges)) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int m = (int)u_edges_length;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; 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 (!(((m >= 0) && (m <= 1000000)))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((int)u_edges_length == m))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((int)v_edges_length == m))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    for (int alg_i = 0; alg_i < (int)u_edges_length; alg_i++) {
        int alg_value = u_edges[alg_i];
        if (!(((alg_value >= 0) && (alg_value < n)))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    for (int alg_i = 0; alg_i < (int)v_edges_length; alg_i++) {
        int alg_value = v_edges[alg_i];
        if (!(((alg_value >= 0) && (alg_value < 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 = alg_add(n, 1, &alg_error);
        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; }
        parent = calloc((size_t)(alg_length ? alg_length : 1), sizeof(*parent));
        if (!parent) { errno = ENOMEM; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    {
        int alg_length = alg_add(n, 1, &alg_error);
        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; }
        size = calloc((size_t)(alg_length ? alg_length : 1), sizeof(*size));
        if (!size) { errno = ENOMEM; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    int i = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int edge = 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 v = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int temp = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int count = n;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    while (1) {
        int alg_condition = (i < n);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (!alg_condition) break;
        parent[i] = i;
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        size[i] = 1;
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        i = alg_add(i, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    while (1) {
        int alg_condition = (edge < m);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (!alg_condition) break;
        u = u_edges[edge];
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        v = v_edges[edge];
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        while (1) {
            int alg_condition = (parent[u] != u);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (!alg_condition) break;
            parent[u] = parent[parent[u]];
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            u = parent[u];
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        }
        while (1) {
            int alg_condition = (parent[v] != v);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (!alg_condition) break;
            parent[v] = parent[parent[v]];
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            v = parent[v];
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        }
        int alg_condition_1 = (u != v);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (alg_condition_1) {
            int alg_condition_2 = (size[u] < size[v]);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (alg_condition_2) {
                temp = u;
                if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
                u = v;
                if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
                v = temp;
                if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            }
            parent[v] = u;
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            size[u] = alg_add(size[u], size[v], &alg_error);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            count = alg_sub(count, 1, &alg_error);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        }
        edge = alg_add(edge, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    alg_result = count;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    goto alg_cleanup;
alg_cleanup:
    free(parent);
    free(size);
    return alg_result;
}

int main(void) {
    int u_edges[] = {0, 1, 3};
    int v_edges[] = {1, 2, 4};
    int n = 5;
    int result = component_count(u_edges, 3, v_edges, 3, n);
    printf("%d\n", result);
    if (errno) { perror("algorithm"); return 1; }
    return 0;
}