4.6. Implementing Kruskal's Algorithm: The Union-Find Data Structure

The basic idea behind the algorithm is that the graph in question has a fixed population of nodes

And the graphs grows over time by inserting edges between certain pairs of nodes.

Goal: Maintain a set of connected components of the graph being processed throughout the whole operation

With this algorithm, we develop a data structure called the Union-Find structure

The Union-Find data structure stores a representation of the components in a way that supports fast searching and updating

This data structure is used to efficiently implement Kruskal's Algorithm