DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR FINDING THE SHORTEST PATH TO A DESTINATION

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR FINDING THE SHORTEST PATH TO A DESTINATION

ABSTRACT

This study is concerned with the design of a Decision Support System for finding the Shortest path to a destination. The objectives of the study is to determine the optimal shortest/fastest path to a given destination or optimal shortest distance/fastest time to a given destination amongst others. The shortest path algorithm used is Dijkstra’s algorithm with finite nodes in the road network for optimum performance. Hence, the system developed in this study, seeks for an optimal solution by decomposing the original problem into several interconnected sub-problems according to hierarchy of decisions as observed in real life i.e. dynamic programming principle. A Shortest path to a destination in a specified road network was illustrated by me, using three different algorithms such as Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford and Backward-recursive algorithms respectively to show their efficiencies/relevance to decision support system for finding the shortest path to a destination within the given road network. The system was designed using object oriented and analysis design (OOAD) methodology and implemented using Netbeans 6.8 IDE on a windows operating system using Java programming language. The study results showed that Dijkstra’s algorithm is more efficient in determination of shortest path on our road networks with finite nodes having non-negative edges.