Report Number: CS-TR-79-729
Institution: Stanford University, Department of Computer Science
Title: A unified approach to path problems
Author: Tarjan, Robert Endre
Date: April 1979
Abstract: We describe a general method for solving path problems on directed graphs. Such path problems include finding shortest paths, solving sparse systems of linear equations, and carrying out global flow analysis of computer programs. Our method consists of two steps. First, we construct a collection of regular expressions representing sets of paths in the graph. This can be done by using any standard algorithm, such as Gaussian or Gauss-Jordan elimination. Next, we apply a natural mapping from regular expressions into the given problem domain. We exhibit the mappings required to find shortest paths, solve sparse systems of linear equations, and carry out global flow analysis. Our results provide a general-purpose algorithm for solving any path problem, and show that the problem of constructing path expressions is in some sense the most general path problem.
http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/cs/tr/79/729/CS-TR-79-729.pdf