What are the differences between iterative deepening and breadth-first search?

What are the differences between iterative deepening and breadth-first search?

Iterative deepening search combines the benefits of depth-first and breadth-first search. It explores nodes in depth-first manner but limits the depth, increasing it iteratively. In contrast, breadth-first search explores all nodes at the present depth before moving on to nodes at the next depth level.

Which one is more memory efficient?

Iterative deepening is more memory efficient than breadth-first search. While breadth-first search stores all nodes at the current level, iterative deepening only needs to store a single path from the root to the current depth.

When should I use iterative deepening over breadth-first search?

Use iterative deepening when the search space is large and you need to find a solution quickly without consuming too much memory. It's particularly useful in scenarios where the depth of the solution is unknown.

Are there any drawbacks to using iterative deepening?

Yes, the main drawback is that iterative deepening can be slower than breadth-first search because it repeatedly explores the same nodes at shallower depths.