insertion sort
Noun
Meaning
insertion sort (countable and uncountable, plural insertion sorts)
(computer science) A sorting algorithm that performs its task by inserting new items into a pre-existing sorted data structure.
Examples
A good implementation of Insertion sort is fast for small arrays, stable, in-place, and can significantly speed up Radix Sort.
Insertion sort is widely used for small data sets, while for large data sets an asymptotically efficient sort is used, primarily heap sort, merge sort, or quicksort.
Insertion sort is very similar in that after the kth iteration, the first k elements in the array are in sorted order.
Examples Sorting algorithms seeAlso * Insertion sort applied to a list of n elements, assumed to be all different and initially in random order.
Insertion sort main Insertion sort is a simple sorting algorithm that is relatively efficient for small lists and mostly sorted lists, and is often used as part of more sophisticated algorithms.