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sorting algorithm
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algorithm that puts elements of a list in a certain order
A sorting algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that arranges items in a list into a specific order, such as from smallest to largest. Sorting matters because it makes data easier to work with and helps computers find information quickly.
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- Sort algorithms
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- Category:Sorting algorithms
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- stackoverflow.com/tags/sorting
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- Template:Sorting
- computes solution to
- sorting
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Encyclopedic overview
Merge sort
In computer science, a sorting algorithm is an algorithm that puts elements of a list into an order. The most frequently used orders are numerical order and lexicographical order, and either ascending order or descending order. Efficient sorting is important for optimizing the efficiency of other algorithms (such as search and merge algorithms) that require input data to be in sorted lists. Sorting is also often useful for canonicalizing data and for producing human-readable output.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “sorting algorithm” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.