Sorting Algorithms Questions Medium
The stooge sort algorithm is a recursive sorting algorithm that works by dividing the array into three parts and recursively sorting the first two-thirds and last two-thirds of the array. It is not an efficient sorting algorithm and is mainly used for educational purposes to understand the concept of recursion and sorting.
The steps of the stooge sort algorithm are as follows:
1. If the first element of the array is greater than the last element, swap them.
2. If there are more than two elements in the array, recursively apply the stooge sort algorithm to the first two-thirds of the array.
3. If there are more than two elements in the array, recursively apply the stooge sort algorithm to the last two-thirds of the array.
4. If the second element is greater than the last element, swap them.
5. Recursively apply the stooge sort algorithm to the first two-thirds of the array again.
The algorithm continues to recursively divide the array into smaller parts and sort them until the array is sorted. It has a time complexity of O(n^(log3/log1.5)) which is approximately O(n^2.7095). This makes it less efficient compared to other sorting algorithms like quicksort or mergesort.
Overall, the stooge sort algorithm is not commonly used in practice due to its inefficiency. However, it serves as a good example to understand the concept of recursion and the basics of sorting algorithms.