We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 December 2009
In this paper a concurrent sorting algorithm called ranksort is presented, able to sort an input sequence of length n in log n time, using n2 processors. The algorithm is formally specified as a delay-insensitive circuit. Then, a formal correctness proof is given, using bisimulation semantics in the language ACPτ. The algorithm has area-time2=O(n2 log4n) complexity which is slightly suboptimal with respect to the lower bound of AT2 = Ω(n2 log n).
INTRODUCTION
Many authors have studied the concurrency aspects of sorting, and indeed the n-time bubblesort algorithm (using n processors) is rather thoroughly analyzed already (e.g. see: Hennessy, Kossen and Weijland). However, bubblesort is not the most efficient sorting algorithm in sequential programming, since it is n2-time and for instance heapsort and mergesort are n log n-time sorting algorithms. So, the natural question arises whether it would be possible to design an algorithm using even less than n-time.
In this paper we discuss a concurrent algorithm, capable of sorting n numbers in O(log n) time. This algorithm is based on the idea of square comparison: putting all numbers to be sorted in a square matrix, all comparisons can be made in O(1) time, using n2 processors (one for each cell of the matrix). Then, the algorithm only needs to evaluate the result of this operation.
The algorithm presented here, which is called ranksort, is not the only concurrent time-efficient sorting algorithm. Several sub n-time algorithms have been developed by others (see: Thompson).
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
