According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) report, there are 65,000 CS graduates in the US, 1.85 lakhs in China, 17,000 in Russia, and 2.15 lakhs in India. So, computer science is a field that students around the overall world highly pursue.
If you are also pursuing CS and want to know what is sorting algorithms and why it’s used in programming. What are the types of sorting algorithms? Don’t worry, we will guide you here. Its all kinds with exclusive examples.
Generally, sorting is a basic function in computer programming’s main subject: data structure and algorithms. It is used to organize data in a specific way for easy retrieval and processing in Javascript, python, java, and C++. Here is an example of sorting in programming: a list of words could be sorted alphabetically or by length.
You can sort all the programming algorithms with the help of their different types very easily. Let’s know all these types in detail here with the most straightforward example.
What Is Sorting algorithms?
Table of Contents
A sorting algorithm is a method for rearranging a given array according to the comparison promoter on the element. The comparison promoter is used to decide the new order of a component in the data structure.
Examples:
1. Arrange numbers in ascending and descending order.
1,4,5,5,67,245// sorted in ascending order.
2. In the case of a set of characters, order elements in alphabetical order.
a,c,f,k,m,x// sorted in alphabetical order.
Why are sorting algorithms important?
- Program accuracy: Like in any program, sorting algorithms are not valid unless they are accurate. This type of behavior would make the entire algorithm useless. Instead, you are unable to focus on simply your data inputs and outputs.
- Speed: This component is vital to understanding why it’s important to understand sorting algorithms. There were several reasons for the poor performance of Twitter early on.
- Comparisons: To move data from one location in a dataset to another, you need to know where to move it, comparing the target data to other data in a dataset.
- Exchanges: The number of exchanges affect speed considerably because moving data from one location to another in memory.
Types Of Sorting Algorithms
Following are the different types of sorting algorithms with amazing examples. It is such as;
Types Of Sorting Algorithms |
1. Bubble sort |
2. Selection sort |
3. Insertion sort |
4. Merge sort |
5. Quick sort |
6. Heap sort |
7. Counting sort |
8. Radix sort |
9. Bucket sort |
10. Shell Sort |
1. Bubble Sort
Bubble sort is an easy sorting algorithm. This sorting algorithm is comparison-based, in which each pair of adjacent elements is compared, and the components are exchanged if they are not in order. This algorithm is not suitable for large data sets as its average of O(n^2), where n is the number of items. Here is an example of the Bubble Sort algorithm implemented in Python:

2. Selection sort
The selection sort selects the smallest element from an unsorted list in each place at the beginning of the unsorted list. It is inefficient on a large list and is used as a part of a complicated algorithm. It is smaller to insertion sort but uses fever swaps.

3. Insertion sort
A sorting algorithm places an unsorted element at its suitable place in each iteration. It works similarly as we sort cards in our hands in a card game. If the unarranged card is greater than the card in hand, it is placed on the right; otherwise, to the left.

4. Quicksort
Quicksort is a highly efficient sorting algorithm based on partitioning an array of data into smaller arrays. A large collection is partitioned into two arrays, one of which holds a smaller value than the specified value, and another variety holds a value greater than the pivot value.

5. Merge sort
Merge sort is one of the most efficient sorting algorithms, and it works on the principles of divide and conquer. Merge sort repeatedly breaks down a list into several subtitles until each subtitle consists of a single element and merges those subtitles in a manner that results in a sorted list.

6. Counting sort
Counting sort is a sorting technique based on keys between specific ranges. It works by counting the number of objects having distinct key values. Then some algorithm is to calculate the position of each object in the output sequence.

7. Heap sort
Heap Sort is a comparison-based sorting algorithm that uses a binary heap data structure to sort elements in an array. It was first proposed by J. W. J. Williams in 1964.
The basic idea of the Heap Sort algorithm is to build a max-heap from the given array and then extract the maximum element repeatedly until the heap is empty. The extracted elements are placed in the final sorted order.
Here are the steps to perform Heap Sort:
- Build a max-heap from the given array. This is done by repeatedly swapping the parent element with its largest child until the heap property is satisfied.
- Extract the maximum element from the root of the heap, which is always the first element of the array.
- Swap the last element of the heap with the root element.
- Reduce the size of the heap by 1.
- Restore the heap property by sifting down the root element.
- Repeat steps 2-5 until the heap is empty.

8. Radix sort
Radix sort is a non-comparison-based sorting algorithm that works by sorting elements in a list based on their digits. It is an efficient algorithm for sorting integers with fixed-width representations, such as integers represented in binary or decimal form. The basic idea of Radix sort is to sort the elements by their least significant digit (or radix), and then sort them by the next least significant digit, and so on until all digits have been sorted.

9. Bucket sort
Bucket sort is a sorting algorithm that works by dividing an array into a finite number of buckets. Each bucket is then sorted individually, either using another sorting algorithm or recursively applying bucket sort. Once all the buckets are sorted, the buckets are concatenated to form a sorted array.

10. Shell Sort
Shell sort is a sorting algorithm that is an extension of insertion sort. It works by sorting elements that are a certain distance apart, and then gradually decreasing the distance until all elements have been compared and sorted.

Conclusion
In this blog, we’ll discuss six different types of sorting algorithms. Each one has briefly explained how they work and why they are efficient in their own way. Many sorting algorithms can be combined for large data sets that exceed system memory and time. We wish you got an idea of the various sorting algorithms that can be used in programs. There are common and highly used different types of sorting algorithms in the data structure. I hope you have understood about types of sorting algorithms easily. And also, if you need assignment help online, then contact our professional experts.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is the most used sorting algorithm?
Quicksort is one of the most efficient sorting algorithms, and this makes it one of the most used as well.
What is the worst sorting algorithm?
The universally-acclaimed worst sorting algorithm is Bogosort; once in a while, it’s called Random Sort or Monkey Sort, for reasons we will see shortly.
Is Quicksort stable or unstable?
Most implementations of quicksort are not stable, meaning that the relative order of equal sort items is not preserved.