16. Introduction to Quicksort
Quicksort is a divide-and-conquer algorithm that efficiently sorts elements without requiring additional array storage as in merge sort. The algorithm operates by selecting a pivot, partitioning the array, and recursively sorting the resulting subarrays. Although its worst-case time complexity is O(n²), which can occur in specific scenarios, its average-case complexity and practical implementations yield an average-case time complexity of O(n log n), making it a preferred sorting algorithm in various programming environments.
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What we have learnt
- Quicksort employs a divide-and-conquer approach, using a pivot to partition the array into subarrays.
- The worst-case time complexity of Quicksort is O(n²), while the average-case performance is O(n log n).
- Randomized strategies to choose pivots can help avoid worst-case scenarios, enhancing the efficiency of the algorithm.
Key Concepts
- -- Quicksort
- A sorting algorithm that uses a divide-and-conquer approach to efficiently sort an array by partitioning it into smaller subarrays around a pivot element.
- -- Averagecase complexity
- The expected time complexity for an algorithm under average conditions, reflecting how it performs on typical input rather than in the worst-case scenario.
- -- Pivot
- An element chosen from the array during the sorting process that partitions the array into elements less than and greater than it.
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