Directed acyclic graph

As explained in Delivering Machine Learning Projects: From design to deployment

A directed acyclic graph is a directed network of nodes and edges with no directed cycle.

A directed acyclic graph (DAG) represents a data pipeline as tasks connected by one-way dependencies, with no cycle. A workflow engine invokes the tasks in sequence without requiring a loop. section 4.3.3

In an ELT workflow, separate tasks can load tables from different systems, join them, and remove null values. Each task may contain internal steps or invoke another workflow, while the pipeline engine abstracts execution and management across technical stacks. section 4.3.3

Figure 4.1 An example DAG: it’s directed (D) as the information flows one way along the arrows. It’s acyclic (A) because there aren’t any cycles, and it’s a graph (G) because that’s what this sort of thing is called.

Use the DAG figure to distinguish directed information flow, acyclicity, and the graph structure. section 4.3.3

How Delivering Machine Learning Projects: From design to deployment covers it

How deep it goes

Defines direction and absence of cycles, then demonstrates loading, joining, and cleaning tasks without detailing graph algorithms.

Examples

Uses an ELT flow that loads two tables, joins them, and removes null values.

What you can do after

Operate and configure data pipelines through workflow engines that execute ordered transformation tasks.

How it connects

Connects data pipelines, workflow engines, schedulers, ELT, Hadoop, Oozie, and Apache Airflow.

liveBookmanning.com

Read Delivering Machine Learning Projects: From design to deployment on liveBook Get the book at manning.com

Also explained in

• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Causal Inference for Data ScienceA directed acyclic graph is a graph with directed edges and no directed cycles, used in causal inference to represent variables and their causal relationships.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Designing Deep Learning Systems: A guide for software engineersA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph whose edges encode dependencies and whose directed paths contain no cycles.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Data Pipelines with Apache Airflow, Second EditionA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph with no cycles, often used to represent workflow tasks and their dependencies.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Causal AIDAG is a graph class representing a directed acyclic graph and operations on its nodes and edges.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofuA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph whose edges encode dependencies and whose vertices cannot be reached again by following directed paths.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Snowflake Data EngineeringA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph whose paths contain no circular dependencies.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Architecting an Apache Iceberg LakehouseA directed acyclic graph is a graph of nodes and directed dependencies with no cycles, commonly representing workflow tasks and their execution order.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Distributed Machine Learning PatternsA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph with no path that returns to an earlier vertex, so its dependencies have no cycles.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Natural Language Processing in Action, Second EditionA directed acyclic graph is a graph whose edges have directions and that contains no directed cycles.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Machine Learning System DesignA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph whose edges have no cycle, so its nodes can be arranged in an evaluation order.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Graph Neural Networks in ActionA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph containing no cycles.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Machine Learning Platform EngineeringA directed acyclic graph is a graph whose directed edges connect nodes without forming any cycle.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Inside AIA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph containing no path that returns to its starting node.
• 

  liveBookmanning.com
  Financial AI in PracticeA directed acyclic graph is a directed graph with no directed cycles, often used to represent task dependencies.

Compare how 15 books explain directed acyclic graph →

Related concepts

• acyclic graphkind of · An acyclic graph is a graph that contains no cycles.
• network topologyincludes · Network topology is the structural arrangement and connectivity relationships among the components of a network or system.
• potential outcomes frameworkequivalent to · The potential outcomes framework defines causal effects by comparing outcomes that would result for a unit under alternative treatments or interventions.
• Apache Airflowused by · Apache Airflow is an open-source platform for authoring, scheduling, and monitoring programmatically defined workflows, commonly represented as directed acyclic graphs.
• graphkind of · A graph is a mathematical structure consisting of vertices connected by edges that represent relationships or connections.
• d-separationused by · D-separation is a graphical criterion for determining whether a conditioning set blocks all relevant paths between variables in a graph, implying conditional independence under the graph’s assumptions.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Delivering Machine Learning Projects: From design to deployment. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.