[Tutor] sorting algorithm

[Glen Zangirolami]

http://www.sorting-algorithms.com/

It is a fantastic website that explains each kind of sort and how it works.
They also show you visuals how the sorts work and how fast they go based on
the amount of data.

Depending on the amount/kind of data I would choose a sorting algorithm that
fits your needs.

Bubble sorts tends to get worse the larger the data set but can be very
useful to sort small lists.

On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 3:56 AM, C.T. Matsumoto <tmatsumoto at gmx.net> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> This is follow up on a question I had about algorithms. In the thread it
> was suggested I make my own sorting algorithm.
>
> Here are my results.
>
> #!/usr/bin/python
>
> def sort_(list_):
>   for item1 in list_:
>       pos1 = list_.index(item1)
>       pos2 = pos1 + 1
>       try:
>           item2 = list_[pos2]
>       except IndexError:
>           pass
>
>       if item1 >= item2:
>           try:
>               list_.pop(pos2)
>               list_.insert(pos1, item2)
>               return True
>           except IndexError:
>               pass
>
> def mysorter(list_):
>   while sort_(list_) is True:
>       sort_(list_)
>
> I found this to be a great exercise. In doing the exercise, I got pretty
> stuck. I consulted another programmer (my dad) who described how to go about
> sorting. As it turned out the description he described was the Bubble sort
> algorithm. Since coding the solution I know the Bubble sort is inefficient
> because of repeated iterations over the entire list. This shed light on the
> quick sort algorithm which I'd like to have a go at.
>
> Something I haven't tried is sticking in really large lists. I was told
> that with really large list you break down the input list into smaller
> lists. Sort each list, then go back and use the same swapping procedure for
> each of the different lists. My question is, at what point to you start
> breaking things up? Is that based on list elements or is it based on
> memory(?) resources python is using?
>
> One thing I'm not pleased about is the while loop and I'd like to replace
> it with a for loop.
>
> Thanks,
>
> T
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