Merge sort (also commonly spelled mergesort) is an O(n log n) comparison-based sorting algorithm. Most implementations produce a stable sort, which means that the implementation preserves the input order of equal elements in the sorted output. Merge sort is a divide and conquer algorithm that was invented by John von Neumann in 1945. A detailed description and analysis of bottom-up mergesort appeared in a report by Goldstine and Neumann as early as 1948.
Read more about Merge Sort: Algorithm, Natural Merge Sort, Analysis, Use With Tape Drives, Optimizing Merge Sort, Parallel Processing, Comparison With Other Sort Algorithms, Utility in Online Sorting
Famous quotes containing the words merge and/or sort:
“If men at forty will be painting lakes
The ephemeral blues must merge for them in one,
The basic slate, the universal hue.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“All art is a struggle to be, in a particular sort of way, virtuous.”
—Iris Murdoch (b. 1919)