WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

The Traveling Salesman Problem 5: Traveling Salesman Path Problem

number of points

4

5

6

7

8

9

from

1

2

3

4

5

6

to

1

2

3

4

5

6

Given a set of points, the traveling salesman path problem asks for the shortest path from one point to another going through all other the points on the way. The case in which the start and end points coincide is precisely the traveling salesman path problem (TSP). This Demonstration lets you drag the points and specify the starting and ending points. The shortest path is shown with arrows. To compare it to the TSP, the periphery of the yellow polygon shows the solution to the TSP for these points.