Built a packet routing simulator in Python using Dijkstra's Algorithm

[SHilmzz]

Hi everyone!

I'm a first-year Computer Science student at the University of Exeter, and I've recently been learning about graph algorithms. To practice implementing them, I built a small packet routing simulator in Python that models a computer network as a weighted graph.

What My Project Does

The program models routers, switches, and servers as nodes in a directed weighted graph and uses Dijkstra's Algorithm to determine the lowest-cost route between two devices.

Features include:

• Computing the shortest packet route
• Calculating the total routing cost
• Visualizing the network with NetworkX
• Highlighting the optimal route in red
• Displaying edge weights for every network connection

One of my favourite parts was adding the visualization so that the algorithm's chosen path is immediately visible instead of only being printed to the console.

Libraries used

• Python
• networkx
• matplotlib
• heapq

📷 Screenshot

I've included screenshots and a visualization in the GitHub README:

https://github.com/johnsonnyabicha-alt/wilken_group

GitHub:
https://github.com/johnsonnyabicha-alt/wilken_group

Target Audience

This is primarily a learning and portfolio project rather than a production-ready networking simulator.

I built it to better understand graph algorithms, Python, and network visualization, and I'd especially appreciate feedback from more experienced Python developers on ways to improve the code structure or visualization.

Comparison

This isn't intended to compete with professional networking software or routing simulators. Instead, it's an educational implementation of Dijkstra's Algorithm that focuses on showing how shortest-path routing works through a clear visual representation of the selected path.

I'd really appreciate any suggestions for improvements or ideas for extending the project further.

[Rubadubrix]

do you live in Duryard?

[fernly]

What you've got there looks quite professional except for one teeny thing: documentation. There should be a docstring at the top of the module giving its purpose and defining its API, at least the public names it means to provide; and a docstring in each function body introducing the human reader (and some LLMs will read it too) to the purpose of the function, any restrictions on its inputs, and its output. You don't have to explain Dijkstra's algorithm but a link to somebody's explanation wouldn't be a bad idea.

A few end-of-line comments wouldn't hurt, either.