# networkx.algorithms.coloring.equitable_color¶

equitable_color(G, num_colors)[source]

Provides equitable (r + 1)-coloring for nodes of G in O(r * n^2) time if deg(G) <= r. The algorithm is described in 1.

Attempts to color a graph using r colors, where no neighbors of a node can have same color as the node itself and the number of nodes with each color differ by at most 1.

Parameters
• G (networkX graph) – The nodes of this graph will be colored.

• num_colors (number of colors to use) – This number must be at least one more than the maximum degree of nodes in the graph.

Returns

• A dictionary with keys representing nodes and values representing

• corresponding coloring.

Examples

>>> G = nx.cycle_graph(4)
>>> d = nx.coloring.equitable_color(G, num_colors=3)
>>> nx.algorithms.coloring.equitable_coloring.is_equitable(G, d)
True

Raises

NetworkXAlgorithmError – If the maximum degree of the graph G is greater than num_colors.

References

1

Kierstead, H. A., Kostochka, A. V., Mydlarz, M., & Szemerédi, E. (2010). A fast algorithm for equitable coloring. Combinatorica, 30(2), 217-224.