dijkstra-s-algorithm-visualization

Github Source Code

🗨️ Overview

Dijkstra’s Algorithm Visualization is a desktop application built to help users understand how Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm works. Through an interactive grid interface, users can:

• Select a starting node and an ending node
• Watch the algorithm traverse through nodes
• Understand how the shortest path is calculated in real-time

This was developed as an educational tool to offer both visual clarity and a hands-on experience of pathfinding logic.

💻 Software Stack

🛡️ Why this stack?

• Django was used as the base backend framework to handle any future web interactions or configurations.
• Pygame provided a simple way to create a 2D grid-based UI for user interaction and rendering the pathfinding steps.
• PyOpenGL was integrated to explore 3D or hardware-accelerated visualization, although the core functionality stays 2D.
• Python is a great choice for prototyping algorithms due to its readability and large community support.

🛠️ Installation & Usage

To run the app locally, follow these steps:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/your-username/Dijkstra-s-algorithm-visualization.git
cd Dijkstra-s-algorithm-visualization

Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Run the App

python main.py

Ensure you have Python 3.8+ and that Pygame + PyOpenGL are correctly installed in your environment.

🧠 How it works

• The app displays a grid layout where each cell represents a node.
• Users click to set the start and end positions.
• Once started, the app visualizes the algorithm:
  • Nodes are highlighted as they are visited.
  • The shortest path is shown once the destination is reached.
• Obstacles or walls can be added to simulate real-world path constraints.

🖼️ Screenshots

This app was made as a fun and educational project to better understand Dijkstra’s algorithm and real-time visual feedback. Contributions and improvements are welcome!