Data Structures Questions Medium
A spanning tree is a subgraph of a connected, undirected graph that includes all the vertices of the original graph and forms a tree (i.e., it is acyclic and connected). In other words, a spanning tree is a subset of the edges of the original graph that connects all the vertices without forming any cycles.
On the other hand, a minimum spanning tree (MST) is a spanning tree with the minimum possible total weight or cost. Each edge in the graph has a weight or cost associated with it, and the goal of finding an MST is to select a subset of edges that form a spanning tree while minimizing the total weight.
In summary, the main difference between a spanning tree and a minimum spanning tree is that a spanning tree is any tree that connects all the vertices of a graph, while a minimum spanning tree is a spanning tree with the minimum total weight or cost.