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Should you memorize sorting algorithms?

Should you memorize sorting algorithms?

It’s not really a matter of memorization. It’s a matter of deeply understanding general classes of algorithms like divide and conquer. If you really understand divide and conquer, then you don’t need to memorize quicksort. You can re-derive it on the spot as needed.

How many sorting algorithms should I know?

The three algorithms you should focus on are Pre-Order, In-Order, and Post-Order traversal. Each of these differs in the order in which they visit the nodes of a tree. I recommend understanding the order in which they visit values in a binary search tree.

Which sorting algorithm is most used?

Most commonly used sorting algorithm is quick sort. It doesn’t make any assumptions about the type of data, unlike hash based sorts. It can be done without taking extra memory, i.e. in-place unlike merge sort. It has average case complexity of , close to the best possible, though worst case time is .

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Do you need to know sorting algorithms when applying for a job?

There are many factors considered when applying for a job, but you should definitely have a strong understanding of sorting algorithms to give yourself the best chance of acing the dreaded technical interview. There are a ton of sorting algorithms in the world which could take you forever to memorize, but you don’t need to know them all.

How to avoid worst case scenarios with quick sort in Ruby?

You can avoid most worst case scenarios by choosing the pivot wisely (the closest to the median possible). You can also mention 3-way quick sort/Dutch National Flag as an alternative to quick sort for repetitive inputs. Fun Fact: Ruby uses quick sort for its .sort method.

What is the time complexity of the merge algorithm?

The implementation utilizes a merge function called again and again to reassemble all elements incorporating them in the correct position. Time complexity: All three cases are O (nlogn). Note: If two arrays are already sorted, it is especially easy to merge them. This algorithm takes apart an unsorted array to take advantage of this fact.