Prim Minimum Spanning Tree in C

Algorithms: Graph Algorithms November 15, 2026 C

Prim grows a minimum spanning tree by choosing the cheapest edge that connects an unvisited vertex to the current tree.

c
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#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <errno.h>
// Prim Minimum Spanning Tree in C
//
// PURPOSE
// Prim grows a minimum spanning tree by choosing the cheapest edge that connects an
// unvisited vertex to the current tree. The cut property justifies each greedy choice.
//
// METHOD
// Keep the cheapest connection cost for every unvisited vertex. Select the cheapest one, add
// its cost, and update neighbors. If no finite connection remains before all vertices are
// added, the graph is disconnected.
//
// COMPLEXITY
// O(n squared) time and O(n) auxiliary space for a dense adjacency matrix.
//
// CONTRACT
// n >= 1; symmetric flattened matrix for an undirected graph. -1 means absent, weights are
// nonnegative and < 1,000,000,000. Total must fit. Returns MST weight or -1 if disconnected.
// 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: 6.
// 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 prim_mst(const int *graph, size_t graph_length, int n) {
    int alg_error = 0;
    int alg_result = INT_MIN;
    errno = 0;
    int *cost = NULL;
    int *used = 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))) { 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)graph_length; alg_i++) {
        int alg_value = graph[alg_i];
        if (!(((alg_value >= alg_sub(0, 1, &alg_error)) && (alg_value < 1000000000)))) { 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; }
        cost = calloc((size_t)(alg_length ? alg_length : 1), sizeof(*cost));
        if (!cost) { 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; }
        used = calloc((size_t)(alg_length ? alg_length : 1), sizeof(*used));
        if (!used) { 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 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 best = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int total = 0;
    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;
        cost[i] = 1000000000;
        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; }
    }
    cost[0] = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    i = 0;
    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;
        u = alg_sub(0, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        best = 1000000000;
        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 = ((used[v] == 0) && (cost[v] < best));
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (alg_condition_1) {
                best = cost[v];
                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 = alg_add(v, 1, &alg_error);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        }
        int alg_condition_2 = (u == alg_sub(0, 1, &alg_error));
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (alg_condition_2) {
            alg_result = alg_sub(0, 1, &alg_error);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            goto alg_cleanup;
        }
        used[u] = 1;
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        total = alg_add(total, cost[u], &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_3 = (graph[alg_add(alg_mul(u, n, &alg_error), v, &alg_error)] >= 0);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (alg_condition_3) {
                cost[v] = alg_min(cost[v], graph[alg_add(alg_mul(u, n, &alg_error), v, &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; }
        }
        i = alg_add(i, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    alg_result = total;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    goto alg_cleanup;
alg_cleanup:
    free(cost);
    free(used);
    return alg_result;
}

int main(void) {
    int graph[] = {0, 4, 10, 4, 0, 2, 10, 2, 0};
    int n = 3;
    int result = prim_mst(graph, 9, n);
    printf("%d\n", result);
    if (errno) { perror("algorithm"); return 1; }
    return 0;
}