A-Level Computer Science – Dijkstra’s, A* & Travelling Salesman Explained (OCR / AQA) | S12:Ep6*

This episode introduces optimization algorithms in computer science, specifically focusing on Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm and the A algorithm*. It explains how Dijkstra's algorithm finds the shortest path between a starting point and all other nodes in a weighted graph, with applications in areas like internet routing and GPS. The document then contrasts computable and incomputable problems, using the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) as an example of an intractable problem that is difficult to solve efficiently. Finally, it introduces heuristic methods as a practical approach for finding approximate solutions to intractable problems, and describes the A* algorithm as a path-finding algorithm that uses a heuristic function to focus on reaching a specific goal node.