A practical algorithm for the computation of the genus

Abstract

We describe a practical algorithm to compute the (oriented) genus of a graph, give results of the program implementing this algorithm, and compare the performance to existing algorithms. The aim of this algorithm is to be fast enough for many applications instead of focusing on the theoretical asymptotic complexity.

Apart from the specific problem and the results, the article can also be seen as an example how some design principles used to carefully develop and implement standard backtracking algorithms can still result in very competitive programs.