====== Breadth-first search ======
{{tag>searching}}
===== Description =====
An implementation of breadth-first search.

**Source**:  PROLOG programming for artificial intelligence, 3rd Edition, Harlow, 2001, ISBN 0-201-40375-7.
===== Download =====
Program source code: {{breadth-first_search.pl}}
===== Listing =====
<code prolog>
% Figure 11.10   An implementation of breadth-first search.

:- op( 900, fy, not).

% not Goal): negation as failure; 
%   Note: This is often available as a built-in predicate,
%   often written as prefix operator "\+", e.g. \+ likes(mary,snakes)

not Goal  :-
  Goal, !, fail
  ; 
  true.

% solve( Start, Solution):
%    Solution is a path (in reverse order) from Start to a goal

solve( Start, Solution)  :-
  breadthfirst( [ [Start] ], Solution).

% breadthfirst( [ Path1, Path2, ...], Solution):
%   Solution is an extension to a goal of one of paths

breadthfirst( [ [Node | Path] | _], [Node | Path])  :-
  goal( Node).

breadthfirst( [Path | Paths], Solution)  :-
  extend( Path, NewPaths),
  conc( Paths, NewPaths, Paths1),
  breadthfirst( Paths1, Solution).

extend( [Node | Path], NewPaths)  :-
  bagof( [NewNode, Node | Path],
         ( s( Node, NewNode), not member( NewNode, [Node | Path] ) ),
         NewPaths),
  !.

extend( Path, [] ).              % bagof failed: Node has no successor
</code>
===== Comments =====