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From: bbanerje@sjuvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: A Simple Bubble Sort Function
Message-ID: <362@sjuvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 11-Jun-84 15:22:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: sjuvax.362
Posted: Mon Jun 11 15:22:24 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Jun-84 06:55:32 EDT
References: <965@ihuxq.UUCP> <165@callan.UUCP>
Organization: Saint Josephs Univ. Phila., Pa.
Lines: 25

>> Jack Purdum is rapidly getting a reputation as an idiot with me.  I
>> thought that by now *EVERYBODY* knew that the bubble sort is for
>> cretins.  If you want a quick simple sort, write a "selection sort":
>> search 0 thru n for the largest item and swap it with the item in slot
>> n;  repeat with n=n-1 until done.  This is exactly the effect that the
>> bubble sort achieves (think about it for a while if you aren't sure),
>> but without all the unnecessary exchanges.
>> 
>> Moral:  Don't waste your effort optimizing the wrong solution to the
>> problem.
>> 

The selection sort doesn't makes things that much better.  Its still
n^2.  If you are sorting less than 15 items, you could do it very
quickly with an insertion sort (Still n^2, but fast for few items).
For more items, use a shell sort (decreasing order bubble sort).  This
is practically as quick and easy as the regular bubble sort, but quite
a bit faster.

(The selection sort is also for cretins)
-- 
				Binayak Banerjee
		{allegra | astrovax | bpa | burdvax}!sjuvax!bbanerje
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