ojs@fortune.UUCP (Oliver Sharp) (06/20/84)
[Die, die, die, die, .... ahem.]
Well, this discussion really doesn't belong in net.sources, but
......
If you want THE definitive discussion of sorts, you must of course
go to Knuth. A bubble sort is the fastest means possible to sort
an already-sorted list (order n, even omega n!). It is not so hot
for unsorted lists, however, a more somewhat more common
occurence :-). It works fine for a few elements (1 microsecond, 2
microseconds - who cares?) and is quick and easy to implement. A
selection or insertion sort is often faster, but the bubble sort
is perfectly valid for teaching. I like to use mergesorts when I
need fairly fast speed, since this is simple to implement and runs
in order n*log(n). It isn't quite as good as quicksort or its
derivatives, but it isn't bad. I just like the clean and simple
implementation it allows and it is easy to explain to people in a
couple of minutes.
In general, though, I agree with the person who supported the
person posting the article (sorry about all those person's).
If you aren't interested in the article, don't read it. Any
submission of interest to at least a couple of people should
be encouraged - that is what the net is for, after all!
(still working on a sign-off message)
Oliver Sharp
....!fortune!ojs