There are a number of languages we can demonstrate this in, but I have selected the one most used by computer programmers these days, C++. If you have a C++ compiler, you can even copy and paste this code and see it run for you. Let's take a look at the entire code first, then I'll explain line by line what the code means.

#include <iostream>

using std::cout;
using std::endl;

#include <iomanip>

using std::setw;

void main()
{
    int NumList[8] = {5, 34, 32, 25, 75, 42, 22, 2};
    int Swap;

cout<<"Data in original order: \n";

// This line loops through the array and displays all values, as is
for(int ctr=0; ctr<8; ctr++)
{
    cout<< setw( 3 ) <<NumList[ctr];
}
    cout<<"\n\n";

// Loop through the array one less than its total cell count
for(int i=0; i<7; i++)

// Loop through every cell (value) in array
     for(int ii=0; ii<7; ii++)

// Compare the values and switch if necessary
       if (NumList[ii] > NumList[ii + 1])
       {
       Swap = NumList[ii];
       NumList[ii] = NumList[ii + 1];
       NumList[ii + 1] = Swap;
       }

cout<<"Data in ascending order: \n";

// Print out sorted array
for (int iii=0; iii<8; iii++)
cout<< setw( 3 ) << NumList[iii];
cout<< endl <<endl;

}

Okay, let's go through this code.

#include <iostream>

using std::cout;
using std::endl;

We first must include a library file so we can output the appropriate arrays to the video.

#include <iomanip>

using std::setw;

We must also include this file so we can set the spaces on the array data. Notice we used setw( 3 ) when we displayed the array. The 3 refers to the spaces we step before we display the value.

void main()
{
    int NumList[8] = {5, 34, 32, 25, 75, 42, 22, 2};
    int Swap;

Here we simply define our function, called main, and initialize an array NumList with 8 array cells. Within the curly braces we have defined our 8 values. On the next line we define our Swap variable, which will temporarily hold our value while we switch array positions.

cout<<"Data in original order: \n";

for(int ctr=0; ctr<8; ctr++)
{
    cout<< setw( 3 ) <<NumList[ctr];
}
    cout<<"\n\n";

Here we simply write a for loop to iterate through each array position and display its value. We have set a space count at 3 and we put in two line breaks after our print out.

for(int i=0; i<7; i++)

This for loop will control how many times we look through the entire list of array values. Although our array has 8 values, we must keep the array at < 7 because of our progression through the array. More on that later.

     for(int ii=0; ii<7; ii++)

       if (NumList[ii] > NumList[ii + 1])
       {
       Swap = NumList[ii];
       NumList[ii] = NumList[ii + 1];
       NumList[ii + 1] = Swap;
       }

Here we have our second loop. This will iterate through each position of the cell and the if statement will compare both values. if NumList[ii] > NumList[[ii + 1] means that if the current position is greater than the next position, Swap = NumList[ii], we will assign the value in NumList[ii] to Swap so we will not lose that data when we do the switch. Then, we assign NumList[ii] to the value of NumList[ii + 1]. Lastly, we assign Swap, which was the current position, NumList[ii], to the next position, or NumList[ii + 1].

cout<<"Data in ascending order: \n";

for (int iii=0; iii<8; iii++)
cout<< setw( 3 ) << NumList[iii];
cout<< endl <<endl;

Lastly, after the sort, we will display the array. Note, if you are running this C++ program on your own system, you will see all the numbers are appropriately sorted. Also note that if two numbers are the same values, like 4 and 4, no swapping will occur.

Naturally, programmers desire the fastest execution of their programs, especially while sorting. Bubble sorting is often the quickest method to choose, but with many thousands of records, sorting can become slow and inefficient, and alternative methods of sorting should be considered.

Articles from WebSiteGravy.com