Heap Sort

on November 24, 2021 · 5 mins read

Introduction to Heap Sort

As a software developer, you must be familiar with the concept of sorting algorithms. They are essential for organizing data in an efficient manner. One of the most popular sorting algorithms is Heap Sort.

Heap Sort is an efficient and effective sorting algorithm that is based on the data structure known as a heap. Heaps are a type of binary tree that has a specific structure. Each node in the tree has a value and two children. The value of the parent node is always greater than or equal to the values of its children.

Heap Sort is a comparison-based sorting algorithm that utilizes the heap data structure to sort an array of elements. It is a stable and in-place sorting algorithm, meaning that it does not require additional memory to sort the elements and it does not change the order of elements that have equal values.

In this blog post, we will discuss the basics of Heap Sort and how it works. We will also look at the pseudocode for the algorithm and discuss its time and space complexity.

What is Heap Sort?

Heap Sort is a comparison-based sorting algorithm that utilizes the heap data structure to sort an array of elements. It is a stable and in-place sorting algorithm, meaning that it does not require additional memory to sort the elements and it does not change the order of elements that have equal values.

Heap Sort works by first creating a heap from the array of elements. The heap is then sorted by repeatedly removing the largest element from the heap and placing it at the end of the array. This process is repeated until the heap is empty and all of the elements are sorted.

How Does Heap Sort Work?

Heap Sort works by first creating a heap from the array of elements. The heap is then sorted by repeatedly removing the largest element from the heap and placing it at the end of the array. This process is repeated until the heap is empty and all of the elements are sorted.

The first step in Heap Sort is to create a heap from the array of elements. This is done by starting at the last element in the array and comparing it to its parent. If the parent is smaller than the element, then the two elements are swapped. This process is repeated until the element is in its correct position in the heap.

Once the heap is created, the sorting process begins. The largest element in the heap is removed and placed at the end of the array. The element that was previously at the end of the array is moved to the root of the heap. The heap is then re-heaped to maintain the heap property. This process is repeated until the heap is empty and all of the elements are sorted.

Pseudocode for Heap Sort

The following pseudocode outlines the Heap Sort algorithm:

HEAP-SORT(A)
    BUILD-MAX-HEAP(A)
    for i = A.length downto 2
        exchange A[1] with A[i]
        A.heap-size = A.heap-size - 1
        MAX-HEAPIFY(A, 1)

The BUILD-MAX-HEAP function builds a max-heap from the array of elements. The MAX-HEAPIFY function is used to maintain the heap property after an element is removed from the heap.

Time and Space Complexity

The time complexity of Heap Sort is O(n log n), where n is the number of elements in the array. This is because the algorithm must build the heap and then traverse the heap for each element in the array.

The space complexity of Heap Sort is O(1), as the algorithm does not require additional memory to sort the elements.

Conclusion

Heap Sort is an efficient and effective sorting algorithm that is based on the data structure known as a heap. It is a stable and in-place sorting algorithm, meaning that it does not require additional memory to sort the elements and it does not change the order of elements that have equal values. The time complexity of Heap Sort is O(n log n) and the space complexity is O(1).