from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
iterative deepening
<algorithm> A {graph} search {algorithm} that will find the
shortest path with some given property, even when the graph
contains {cycles}. When searching for a path through a graph,
starting at a given initial {node}, where the path (or its end
node) has some desired property, a {depth-first search} may
never find a solution if it enters a cycle in the graph.
Rather than avoiding cycles (i.e. never extend a path with a
node it already contains), iterative deepening explores all
paths up to length (or "depth") N, starting from N=0 and
increasing N until a solution is found.
(2004-01-26)