MERGE SORT
SAMBUDDHA CHAKRABORTY
Topics to be covered:
■ Introduction
■ Definition
■ Algorithm
■ Steps involved
■ Program
■ Applications
Introduction:
■Merge Sort is a complex and fast
sorting algorithm that repeatedly
divides an un-sorted section into
two equal sub-sections, sorts
them separately and merges
them correctly.
Definition:
■Merge sort is a DIVIDE AND
CONQUER algorithm. It divides
input array in two halves, calls
itself for the two halves and then
merges the two sorted halves.
The merge() function is used for
merging two halves.
Steps involved:
– Divide the problem into sub-
problems that are similar to the
original but smaller in size.
– Conquer the sub-problems by
solving them recursively. If they are
small enough, just solve them in a
straightforward manner.
– Combine the solutions to create a
solution to the original problem.
Algorithm:
mergeSort(arr[], l, r)
If l < r
1. Find the middle point to divide the
array into two halves: middle m =
(l+r)/2
2. Call mergeSort for first half: Call
mergeSort(arr, l, m)
3. Call mergeSort for second half: Call
mergeSort(arr, m+1, r)
4. Merge the two halves sorted in step
2 and 3: Call merge(arr, l, m, r)
Example:
Program:
Output:
Why Merge Sort??
■ Compared to insertion sort merge
sort is faster.
■ On small inputs, insertion sort may
be faster. But for large enough
inputs, merge sort will always be
faster, because its running time
grows more slowly than insertion
sorts.
Applications:
■ Merge sort type algorithms allows
large data sets to be sorted easily.
■ Merge sort accesses data
sequentially and the need of random
access is low.
■ Inversion count problem.
■ Used in External Sorting.
■ Organize an MP3 library.
■ Display Google PageRank results.
■ The e-commerce application.
Thank
You...!!!!