HCS clustering algorithm (source code)

= HCS clustering algorithm
{wiki=HCS_clustering_algorithm}

HCS stands for Hierarchical Clustering using Single-linkage. It is a type of hierarchical clustering algorithm that builds a hierarchy of clusters by progressively merging or splitting existing clusters based on some distance metric. Here’s a brief overview of how HCS operates: 1. **Distance Matrix**: The algorithm starts by calculating the pairwise distances between all data points, usually using a metric like Euclidean distance or Manhattan distance. This forms a distance matrix.