Programming Fundamentals/Sorting Arrays

Overview

A sorting algorithm is an algorithm that puts elements of a list in a certain order. The most frequently used orders are numerical order and lexicographical order. Most current programming languages include built-in or standard library functions for sorting arrays.

Discussion

Sorting is the process through which data are arranged according to their values. The following examples show standard library and/or built-in array sorting methods for different programming languages.

Language	Sort Example
C++	#include <algorithm> sort(array, array + sizeof(array) / sizeof(int));
C#	System.Array.Sort(array);
Java	import java.util.Arrays; Arrays.sort(array);
JavaScript	array.sort();
Python	array.sort()
Swift	array.sort()

Language	Reverse Sort Example
C++	#include <algorithm> sort(array, array + sizeof(array) / sizeof(int), greater <int>());
C#	System.Array.Sort(array); System.Array.Reverse(array);
Java	import java.util.Arrays; Arrays.sort(array, Collections.reverseOrder());
JavaScript	array.sort; array.reverse();
Python	array.sort(reverse=True)
Swift	array.sort(>)

Key Terms

sorting

Arranging data according to their values.

References

• cnx.org: Programming Fundamentals – A Modular Structured Approach using C++

Programming Fundamentals