Week 7

Yesterday in class Professor Heap introduced the topic of the efficiency of sorting algorithms. Different algorithms may take vastly different amounts of time when sorting large amounts of data. The most significant factor is the number of steps involved in the sorting process. When we compare two algorithms, it is the most helpful to compare the number of steps involved in sorting the worst arrangement of items for that algorithm to sort, that is, the one that will take the longest. The worst arrangement is different for each algorithm, as they sort in different ways.