One application for stable sorting algorithms is sorting a list using a primary and secondary key. For example, suppose we wish to sort a hand of cards such that the suits are in the order clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥), spades (♠), and within each suit, the cards are sorted by rank.
A Sorting Algorithm is used to rearrange a given array or list of elements in an order. For example, a given array [10, 20, 5, 2] becomes [2, 5, 10, 20] after sorting in increasing order and becomes [20, 10, 5, 2] after sorting in decreasing order.
Sorting results from the application of some criterion or differential stressors to a mass to separate it into its components based on some variable quality. Materials that are different, but only slightly so, such as the isotopes of uranium, are very difficult to separate.
Sorting is commonly used as the introductory problem in various Computer Science classes to showcase a range of algorithmic ideas. Without loss of generality, we assume that we will sort only Integers, not necessarily distinct, in non-decreasing order in this visualization.
A sorting algorithm is used to arrange elements of an array/list in a specific order. In this article, you will learn what sorting algorithm is and different sorting algorithms.