Breadth-First Search

BFS is initially an algorithm for traversing graph data structures. Starting at the root node, it explores all neighboring nodes at the present depth level before moving on to nodes at the next depth level.

+ Finds the shortest path in an unweighted graph and will find a solution if one exists.

- Not very space-efficient.

Depth-First Search

DFS is an algorithm for traversing graph data structures, starting at the root node and exploring as far as possible along each branch before backtracking.

+ Uses less memory compared to BFS and can be more efficient for deep graphs.

- Does not guarantee the shortest path and can get stuck in infinite loops if cycles are present.

Dijkstra's Algorithm

Dijkstra's Algorithm is used for finding the shortest paths between nodes in a graph, which may represent, for example, road networks.

+ Guarantees the shortest path in graphs with non-negative weights.

- Can be slow for large graphs and does not work with negative weight edges.

A* Search

A* Search is an informed search algorithm used for pathfinding and graph traversal, which uses both the actual distance from the start and a heuristic to the goal.

+ Efficiently finds the shortest path by combining the best aspects of Dijkstra's Algorithm and greedy search.

- Performance heavily depends on the quality of the heuristic and can be computationally expensive.