Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: $Revision: 1.6.2.13 $; site uiucdcs.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!vaxine!wjh12!genrad!decvax!ucbvax!ucbcad!tektronix!uw-beaver!cornell!vax135!houxz!houxm!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!liberte From: liberte@uiucdcs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.lang Subject: Re: Re: A Simple Bubble Sort Function - (nf) Message-ID: <26400014@uiucdcs.UUCP> Date: Tue, 19-Jun-84 01:00:00 EDT Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.26400014 Posted: Tue Jun 19 01:00:00 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 21-Jun-84 01:39:40 EDT References: <7471@umcp-cs.UUCP> Lines: 28 Nf-ID: #R:umcp-cs:-747100:uiucdcs:26400014:000:1077 Nf-From: uiucdcs!liberte Jun 18 00:00:00 1984 #R:umcp-cs:-747100:uiucdcs:26400014:000:1077 uiucdcs!liberte Jun 18 00:00:00 1984 /**** uiucdcs:net.lang / andrew@orca / 10:22 am Jun 16, 1984 ****/ The continued popularity of the bubble sort is perplexing. "In short, the bubble sort seems to have nothing to recommend it, except a catchy name and the fact that it leads to some interesting theoretical problems." /* ---------- */ Worth some study: 1. the continued popularity of bubble sort and 2. the perplexity of its popularity - we know so little Perhaps bubble sort has an intuitive edge. It is easier to imagine how it works because it is "flat" and global and items float to their sorted level. Unlike the faster, more complex, recursive and hierarchical sorting schemes, the bubbling of data has great appeal. Too bad it is slow. But I wonder if using parallel processing might improve bubble sort's rating. A parallel version would run in O(n). Is O(log n) possible? What is the fastest known/possible parallel sorting method? Daniel LaLiberte (ihnp4!uiucdcs!liberte) U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Computer Science {moderation in all things - including moderation}