Sorting Techniques

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 3

7/30/2021 Data Structure - Sorting Techniques - Tutorialspoint

Data Structure - Sorting Techniques

Sorting refers to arranging data in a particular format. Sorting algorithm specifies the way to arrange data in a particular order. Most
common orders are in numerical or lexicographical order.
The importance of sorting lies in the fact that data searching can be optimized to a very high level, if data is stored in a sorted
manner. Sorting is also used to represent data in more readable formats. Following are some of the examples of sorting in real-life
scenarios −
Telephone Directory − The telephone directory stores the telephone numbers of people sorted by their names, so that the
names can be searched easily.
Dictionary − The dictionary stores words in an alphabetical order so that searching of any word becomes easy.

In-place Sorting and Not-in-place Sorting


Sorting algorithms may require some extra space for comparison and temporary storage of few data elements. These algorithms do
not require any extra space and sorting is said to happen in-place, or for example, within the array itself. This is called in-place
sorting. Bubble sort is an example of in-place sorting.
However, in some sorting algorithms, the program requires space which is more than or equal to the elements being sorted. Sorting
which uses equal or more space is called not-in-place sorting. Merge-sort is an example of not-in-place sorting.

Stable and Not Stable Sorting


If a sorting algorithm, after sorting the contents, does not change the sequence of similar content in which they appear, it is called
stable sorting.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/data_structures_algorithms/sorting_algorithms.htm 1/3
7/30/2021 Data Structure - Sorting Techniques - Tutorialspoint

If a sorting algorithm, after sorting the contents, changes the sequence of similar content in which they appear, it is called unstable
sorting.

Stability of an algorithm matters when we wish to maintain the sequence of original elements, like in a tuple for example.

Adaptive and Non-Adaptive Sorting Algorithm


A sorting algorithm is said to be adaptive, if it takes advantage of already 'sorted' elements in the list that is to be sorted. That is,
while sorting if the source list has some element already sorted, adaptive algorithms will take this into account and will try not to re-
order them.
A non-adaptive algorithm is one which does not take into account the elements which are already sorted. They try to force every
single element to be re-ordered to confirm their sortedness.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/data_structures_algorithms/sorting_algorithms.htm 2/3
7/30/2021 Data Structure - Sorting Techniques - Tutorialspoint

Important Terms
Some terms are generally coined while discussing sorting techniques, here is a brief introduction to them −

Increasing Order
A sequence of values is said to be in increasing order, if the successive element is greater than the previous one. For example, 1,
3, 4, 6, 8, 9 are in increasing order, as every next element is greater than the previous element.

Decreasing Order
A sequence of values is said to be in decreasing order, if the successive element is less than the current one. For example, 9, 8, 6,
4, 3, 1 are in decreasing order, as every next element is less than the previous element.

Non-Increasing Order
A sequence of values is said to be in non-increasing order, if the successive element is less than or equal to its previous element in
the sequence. This order occurs when the sequence contains duplicate values. For example, 9, 8, 6, 3, 3, 1 are in non-increasing
order, as every next element is less than or equal to (in case of 3) but not greater than any previous element.

Non-Decreasing Order
A sequence of values is said to be in non-decreasing order, if the successive element is greater than or equal to its previous
element in the sequence. This order occurs when the sequence contains duplicate values. For example, 1, 3, 3, 6, 8, 9 are in non-
decreasing order, as every next element is greater than or equal to (in case of 3) but not less than the previous one.

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/data_structures_algorithms/sorting_algorithms.htm 3/3

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy