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What is Bubble Sort?
Bubble sort is a simple and basic sorting algorithm that is widely used in computer science. It is called “bubble sort” because the smaller elements “bubble” to the top of the list, similar to how bubbles rise to the surface of a liquid. This algorithm works by repeatedly swapping adjacent elements if they are in the wrong order until the entire list is sorted.
How Bubble Sort Works?
Let’s say we have a list of numbers [5, 2, 8, 3, 1]. The bubble sort algorithm will repeatedly iterate through the list, comparing adjacent elements and swapping them if they are in the wrong order.
1. In the first pass, the algorithm compares 5 and 2. Since 5 is greater than 2, they are swapped, resulting in [2, 5, 8, 3, 1].
2. The algorithm then compares 5 and 8, which are already in the correct order.
3. Next, it compares 8 and 3. Since 8 is greater than 3, they are swapped, resulting in [2, 5, 3, 8, 1].
4. It continues comparing and swapping until the end of the list, resulting in [2, 5, 3, 1, 8].
5. The first pass is completed, and the largest element, 8, is now in its correct position at the end of the list.
The algorithm then performs subsequent passes through the list, each time placing the next largest element in its correct position. It repeats this process until the list is completely sorted.
Efficiency of Bubble Sort
Although bubble sort is simple to understand and implement, it is not the most efficient sorting algorithm. Bubble sort has a time complexity of O(n^2), which means that the time it takes to sort a list of n elements increases quadratically with the size of the list. For large lists, this can result in significant performance issues.
However, bubble sort does have some advantages. It is easy to implement and requires no additional memory other than the list being sorted. It is also well-suited for sorting small lists or lists that are nearly sorted already.
Overall, bubble sort is a fundamental algorithm to understand and serves as the basis for more advanced sorting algorithms. Its simplistic nature makes it an excellent starting point for learning about sorting algorithms and their intricacies.
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