Radix Sort 3 A Efficie t
No -Co parative Sorti g
Algorit
Radix Sort is a non-comparative sorting algorithm focused on digit
processing. It excels in sorting large datasets efficiently when keys
have fixed sizes.
by Abhishek Kumar Shukla Ji .
I troductio : W at i Radix Sort? W y U e It?
Digit-Ba ed Sorti g Order of Proce i g
Sorts elements by processing individual digits. Processes from least to most significant digit.
Opti al U e Ca e Perfor a ce Be efit
Works best with integer or string keys. Can achieve linear time complexity under ideal
conditions.
Worki g Pri ciple: Expla atio wit Vi ual (LSD
v MSD)
LSD Radix Sort MSD Radix Sort
Starts sorting from the rightmost (least significant) digit. Begins sorting from the leftmost (most significant) digit.
Commonly used and stable Useful for variable-length keys
Works well with fixed digit lengths Can be recursive
Step-by-Step Exa ple:
Sorti g [170, 45, 75, 90, 802,
24, 2, 66]
Pa 1: Sort by O e Digit
Sort array based on units place digits.
Pa 2: Sort by Te Digit
Sort array based on tens place digits.
Pa 3: Sort by Hu dred Digit
Sort array on hundreds place digits to finalize.
Fi al Sorted Array
[2, 24, 45, 66, 75, 90, 170, 802]
Code (Pyt o /C++):
A otated Code S ippet
Digit Extractio Cou ti g Sort
Extract digits to sort by I tegratio
each place value. Used internally for sorting
each digit efficiently.
Fi di g Maxi u
Determine max number for digit iteration count.
Co pari o wit Ot er Algorit : v Quick
Sort, Merge Sort
Radix Sort Adva tage Radix Sort Di adva tage W e to U e Radix Sort
Non-comparative Limited to integers or strings Best with large fixed-length key
Potentially faster on fixed-key Sensitive to key size datasets
data
Real-World Applicatio :
W ere Radix Sort i U ed
Card Sorti g Databa e I dexi g
Mac i e Efficiently sorts fixed-
Sort physical cards based length keys for indexing.
on digit patterns.
Network Sorti g
Sorting MAC addresses and similar data efficiently.
Adva tage a d Di adva tage
Adva tage Di adva tage
Fast for fixed-size keys High space usage
Stable sorting algorithm Limited data types
Co clu io Su ary
Radix Sort excels with specific data types and sizes. It complements
other sorting algorithms well. Consider data and key size when
choosing Radix Sort.