Merge Sort a Linked List
I was recently brushing up on some fundamentals and found merge sorting a linked list to be a pretty good challenge. If you have a good implementation then show it off here.
Solution 1:
Wonder why it should be big challenge as it is stated here, here is a straightforward implementation in Java with out any "clever tricks".
//The main function
public static Node merge_sort(Node head)
{
if(head == null || head.next == null)
return head;
Node middle = getMiddle(head); //get the middle of the list
Node left_head = head;
Node right_head = middle.next;
middle.next = null; //split the list into two halfs
return merge(merge_sort(left_head), merge_sort(right_head)); //recurse on that
}
//Merge subroutine to merge two sorted lists
public static Node merge(Node a, Node b)
{
Node dummyHead = new Node();
for(Node current = dummyHead; a != null && b != null; current = current.next;)
{
if(a.data <= b.data)
{
current.next = a;
a = a.next;
}
else
{
current.next = b;
b = b.next;
}
}
dummyHead.next = (a == null) ? b : a;
return dummyHead.next;
}
//Finding the middle element of the list for splitting
public static Node getMiddle(Node head)
{
if(head == null)
return head;
Node slow = head, fast = head;
while(fast.next != null && fast.next.next != null)
{
slow = slow.next;
fast = fast.next.next;
}
return slow;
}
Solution 2:
A simpler/clearer implementation might be the recursive implementation, from which the NLog(N) execution time is more clear.
typedef struct _aList {
struct _aList* next;
struct _aList* prev; // Optional.
// some data
} aList;
aList* merge_sort_list_recursive(aList *list,int (*compare)(aList *one,aList *two))
{
// Trivial case.
if (!list || !list->next)
return list;
aList *right = list,
*temp = list,
*last = list,
*result = 0,
*next = 0,
*tail = 0;
// Find halfway through the list (by running two pointers, one at twice the speed of the other).
while (temp && temp->next)
{
last = right;
right = right->next;
temp = temp->next->next;
}
// Break the list in two. (prev pointers are broken here, but we fix later)
last->next = 0;
// Recurse on the two smaller lists:
list = merge_sort_list_recursive(list, compare);
right = merge_sort_list_recursive(right, compare);
// Merge:
while (list || right)
{
// Take from empty lists, or compare:
if (!right) {
next = list;
list = list->next;
} else if (!list) {
next = right;
right = right->next;
} else if (compare(list, right) < 0) {
next = list;
list = list->next;
} else {
next = right;
right = right->next;
}
if (!result) {
result=next;
} else {
tail->next=next;
}
next->prev = tail; // Optional.
tail = next;
}
return result;
}
NB: This has a Log(N) storage requirement for the recursion. Performance should be roughly comparable with the other strategy I posted. There is a potential optimisation here by running the merge loop while (list && right), and simple appending the remaining list (since we don't really care about the end of the lists; knowing that they're merged suffices).
Solution 3:
Heavily based on the EXCELLENT code from: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/algorithms/listsort.html
Trimmed slightly, and tidied:
typedef struct _aList {
struct _aList* next;
struct _aList* prev; // Optional.
// some data
} aList;
aList *merge_sort_list(aList *list,int (*compare)(aList *one,aList *two))
{
int listSize=1,numMerges,leftSize,rightSize;
aList *tail,*left,*right,*next;
if (!list || !list->next) return list; // Trivial case
do { // For each power of two<=list length
numMerges=0,left=list;tail=list=0; // Start at the start
while (left) { // Do this list_len/listSize times:
numMerges++,right=left,leftSize=0,rightSize=listSize;
// Cut list into two halves (but don't overrun)
while (right && leftSize<listSize) leftSize++,right=right->next;
// Run through the lists appending onto what we have so far.
while (leftSize>0 || (rightSize>0 && right)) {
// Left empty, take right OR Right empty, take left, OR compare.
if (!leftSize) {next=right;right=right->next;rightSize--;}
else if (!rightSize || !right) {next=left;left=left->next;leftSize--;}
else if (compare(left,right)<0) {next=left;left=left->next;leftSize--;}
else {next=right;right=right->next;rightSize--;}
// Update pointers to keep track of where we are:
if (tail) tail->next=next; else list=next;
// Sort prev pointer
next->prev=tail; // Optional.
tail=next;
}
// Right is now AFTER the list we just sorted, so start the next sort there.
left=right;
}
// Terminate the list, double the list-sort size.
tail->next=0,listSize<<=1;
} while (numMerges>1); // If we only did one merge, then we just sorted the whole list.
return list;
}
NB: This is O(NLog(N)) guaranteed, and uses O(1) resources (no recursion, no stack, nothing).
Solution 4:
One interesting way is to maintain a stack, and only merge if the list on the stack has the same number of elements, and otherwise push the list, until you run out of elements in the incoming list, and then merge up the stack.
Solution 5:
The simplest is from Gonnet + Baeza Yates Handbook of Algorithms. You call it with the number of sorted elements you want, which recursively gets bisected until it reaches a request for a size one list which you then just peel off the front of the original list. These all get merged up into a full sized sorted list.
[Note that the cool stack-based one in the first post is called the Online Mergesort and it gets the tiniest mention in an exercise in Knuth Vol 3]