How to find the shortest path in a graph using Dijkstra's algorithm in Java?
Jul 10, 2025 pm 01:03 PMThe Dijkstra algorithm is used to solve the problem of single source shortest path in the graph, especially when the edge weight is positive. 1. Use an adjacency table to represent the graph structure, such as Map
The Dijkstra algorithm is a classic method to solve the problem of shortest paths in single source in the graph, and is especially suitable for cases where edge weights are positive. Implementing it in Java is not complicated, just understand how basic logic and data structures are used.

Preparation: Understanding the basic structure
To use the Dijkstra algorithm, you must first have a graph representation. Usually we use an adjacency table to represent the graph, such as a Map<integer list>></integer>
where the key is the node number and the value is an array list, and each array contains the weights of the target node and edge.
For example:

graph.put(0, Arrays.asList(new int[]{1, 4}, new int[]{2, 1}));
This means that node 0 is connected to node 1 (weight 4) and node 2 (weight 1).
Implementation steps: Core logic and priority queue
The core idea of ??Dijkstra is greed priority queues (minimum heap). Starting from the starting point, each time you select the node with the shortest distance for processing.

The key points of implementation are as follows:
- Use an array
dist[]
to record the shortest distance from the starting point to each point. - Initialize all distances to infinity (can be used
Integer.MAX_VALUE
), and set the starting distance to 0. - Use a priority queue to save pending nodes, sorted by the current known distance.
- Each time, the node with the smallest distance is taken out and the distance of its neighbor is updated.
Sample code snippet:
PriorityQueue<int[]> pq = new PriorityQueue<>((a, b) -> a[1] - b[1]); pq.offer(new int[]{start, 0});
Avoid duplicate processing: Remember to skip nodes that have determined the shortest path
A common but easily overlooked detail is that if a node has been processed (i.e., its shortest path has been determined), it does not need to be processed again.
Therefore, after fetching the node, you should first determine whether the distance of the current record is smaller than the value in dist[]
:
int[] curr = pq.poll(); int node = curr[0], cost = curr[1]; if (cost > dist[node]) continue;
If this judgment is not added, although the program can run, its efficiency will be greatly reduced.
Complete summary of ideas (optional extension)
If you want to further optimize or adapt to different scenarios, you can consider:
- Encapsulate the graph construction process into classes for easy reuse.
- Join the predecessor node record for backtracking paths.
- When supporting larger graph structures, consider using more efficient data structures such as Fibonacci heaps (but the Java standard library does not).
Basically that's it. The Dijkstra algorithm itself is not complicated, but it is necessary to pay attention to details when actually encoding, especially prioritizing the use of queues and avoiding duplicate processing.
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