geoff@callan.UUCP (06/09/84)
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. Geoff Kuenning Callan Data Systems ...!ihnp4!wlbr!callan!geoff
mas@ecsvax.UUCP (06/11/84)
Wirth states, " ... in fact, the Bubblesort has hardly anything to recommend it except its catchy name. " page 68 of Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs . ...decvax!mcnc!ecsvax!mas
gsp@ulysses.UUCP (Gary Perlman) (06/12/84)
> 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. > Geoff Kuenning > Callan Data Systems > ...!ihnp4!wlbr!callan!geoff It is true that bubble sort is about as bad an algorithm as can be found. Floor sort, used by me when I once dropped my FORTAN deck, is a bit worse. Still, bubble sort is useful as a teaching tool, and its impracticality makes it unlikely that teachers can find implementations of it in C. I have trouble finding serious fault with anyone generous enough to post their software to net.sources. I realized that I was free to ignore it. So while I can't cheer for the posting of some code that people should not use for efficiency's sake, I find personal attacks in very poor taste. For another non-optimal sorting routine, see the standard C text, The C Programming Language (Prentice Hall) for a shell sort routine. For small arrays, it gives remarkably good results for such a small procedure. Gary Perlman BTL MH 5D-105 (201) 582-3624 ulysses!gsp
mickey@proper.UUCP (06/13/84)
>> Wirth states, " ... in fact, the Bubblesort has hardly anything to >> recommend it except its catchy name. " >> page 68 of Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs . >> >> ...decvax!mcnc!ecsvax!mas >> That statement actually came from Knuth. See page 111 of Volume 3 from "The Art of Computer Programming". I read somewhere, though i am sorry i can't give a reference, that bubble sort is quite efficient for N <= 10 (where N is the number of records to be sorted). M. Thompson
ags@pucc-i (06/17/84)
> I read somewhere, though i am sorry i can't give a reference, that > bubble sort is quite efficient for N <= 10 (where N is the number of > records to be sorted). You could also say that BASIC is quite efficient for N <= 10 (where N is the number of lines in the program). -- Dave Seaman "My hovercraft is full of eels." ..!pur-ee!pucc-i:ags
nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) (06/18/84)
> From: mickey@proper.UUCP > I read somewhere, though i am sorry i can't give a reference, > that bubble sort is quite efficient for N <= 10 (where N is the > number of records to be sorted). The bubble sort is efficient for N <= 10, but the straight insertion sort, which is easier to do, is more efficient. -- -Doug Alan mit-eddie!nessus Nessus@MIT-MC "What does 'I' mean"?