Counting Sort

Counting Sort Algorithm in C++ (Complete Implementation)

IntermediateTopic: Sorting & Searching Programs
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C++ Counting Sort Program

This program helps you to learn the fundamental structure and syntax of C++ programming.

Try This Code
#include <iostream>
#include <algorithm>
using namespace std;

void countingSort(int arr[], int n) {
    int max = *max_element(arr, arr + n);
    int min = *min_element(arr, arr + n);
    int range = max - min + 1;
    
    int count[range] = {0};
    int output[n];
    
    // Store count of each element
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        count[arr[i] - min]++;
    
    // Change count to position
    for (int i = 1; i < range; i++)
        count[i] += count[i - 1];
    
    // Build output array
    for (int i = n - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
        output[count[arr[i] - min] - 1] = arr[i];
        count[arr[i] - min]--;
    }
    
    // Copy output to original array
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = output[i];
}

void printArray(int arr[], int n) {
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
    }
    cout << endl;
}

int main() {
    int arr[] = {4, 2, 2, 8, 3, 3, 1};
    int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
    
    cout << "Original array: ";
    printArray(arr, n);
    
    countingSort(arr, n);
    
    cout << "Sorted array: ";
    printArray(arr, n);
    
    return 0;
}
Output
Original array: 4 2 2 8 3 3 1
Sorted array: 1 2 2 3 3 4 8

Understanding Counting Sort

Counting Sort is a non-comparative sorting algorithm that sorts integers by counting occurrences of each value. Time Complexity: O(n + k) where k is range. Space Complexity: O(n + k). It's stable and efficient when the range of input data is not significantly greater than the number of elements.

Note: To write and run C++ programs, you need to set up the local environment on your computer. Refer to the complete article Setting up C++ Development Environment. If you do not want to set up the local environment on your computer, you can also use online IDE to write and run your C++ programs.

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