(definition)
Definition: A weighted, directed graph with two specially marked nodes, the source s and the sink t, and a capacity function that maps edges to positive real numbers, u: E |→ R+.
See also st-digraph, maximum-flow problem, flow function, blocking flow.
Note: A graph with multiple sources or sinks may be converted into a flow network by adding a supersource, which has infinite capacity to all sources, or a supersink, which has infinite capacity from all sinks.
From Algorithms and Theory of Computation Handbook, page 7-10, Copyright © 1999 by CRC Press LLC. Appearing in the Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and Technology, Copyright © 2000 CRC Press LLC.
Author: CRC-A
If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul Black.
Entry modified 17 December 2004.
HTML page formatted Mon Feb 2 13:10:39 2015.
Cite this as:
Algorithms and Theory of Computation Handbook, CRC Press LLC, 1999, "flow network", in
Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Vreda Pieterse and Paul E. Black, eds. 17 December 2004. (accessed TODAY)
Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/flownetwork.html