bozo sort

(algorithm)

Definition: A terribly inefficient sort algorithm that randomly swaps items until they are in order.

Generalization (I am a kind of ...)
Las Vegas algorithm.

See also bogosort, stooge sort, lucky sort.

Note: Run time analysis in
Hermann Gruber, Markus Holzer, and Oliver Ruepp, Sorting the slow way: An analysis of perversely awful randomized sorting algorithms, FUN 2007, LNCS 4475, pp. 183-197, 2007. Available at http://www2.tcs.ifi.lmu.de/~gruberh/data/fun07-final.pdf
Note: "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is misspelled on the sixth page, although it is spelled correctly in the footnote.

Author: PEB

Implementation

demonstration and source code (Java).

Go to the Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures home page.

If you have suggestions, corrections, or comments, please get in touch with Paul Black.

Entry modified 29 September 2014.
HTML page formatted Mon Feb 2 13:10:39 2015.

Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "bozo sort", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Vreda Pieterse and Paul E. Black, eds. 29 September 2014. (accessed TODAY) Available from: http://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/bozoSort.html