# Directed acyclic graph A directed acyclic graph, or DAG, is a [[Directed_graph|directed graph]] with no directed cycles: following the arrows from any node can never lead back to that same node. That single constraint is enough to give every DAG a topological ordering — a way of lining up its nodes so every edge points from earlier to later. ## Microsim — queued <p class="wt-pending"><strong>Microsim/diagram layer in the draft queue.</strong> Troy is building the interactive station for this concept by hand; the sourced overview below is complete and citable now.</p> ## Overview DAGs underlie dependency resolution in build systems and version control, the layered structure of a [[Bayesian_network|Bayesian network]], and the assumption, central to a probabilistic [[Causal_model|causal model]], that cause precedes effect with no loop feeding a variable back into its own past. A [[Causal_loop_diagram|causal loop diagram]], by contrast, is deliberately cyclic — the DAG is the acyclic special case against which that cyclic structure is defined. **On the spine:** [[Directed_graph]] · [[Bayesian_network]] · [[Causal_model]] · [[Causal_loop_diagram]] · [[Network_theory]]. ## Wikipedia : Wikitube **Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_acyclic_graph) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Directed_acyclic_graph) ## Previous hub tags Hubs: `Systems`. Portals: [[PORTAL_Causal_loop_diagram]]. --- *Repopulated 2026-08-05 · text transfer · 0 deletions.*