Optimization of Base-n Radix Sort for Skewed Datasets
Atharv Pandey, Lakshmanan Kuppusamy
Published: 2025/9/23
Abstract
The importance and applications of sorting is apparent and needs no explanation. In this paper, we analyse a non-comparison sorting algorithm, Base-n Radix Sort (BNRS) and introduce an optimized vari- ant of BNRS, namely, Stable Logical Partition Radix Sort (SLPR). The complexity of these algorithms is measured by the input size $n$ and the maximum value $k$. We show that with respect to time complexity, these algorithms are more succinct than traditional comparison-based sorting algorithms for representing the sorted order of certain integer distribu- tions, specifically, when $k <nlog_2^n$ is met. We also show that the SLPR optimization, which uses in-place stable partitioning to reduce the active problem size in each pass, resulting in highly effective sorting for skewed datasets that contain a majority of small numbers and mix of very large numbers.