MCQ Detailed View

Sorting refers to the process of arranging data in a specific, logical order. In computer science and data structures, sorting is used to organize data items either in ascending or descending sequence, based on a particular criteria such as numerical value, alphabetical order, or other logical patterns.

For example, sorting a list of numbers in ascending order would place them from smallest to largest. Similarly, sorting names alphabetically would list them from A to Z. This makes it easier to search, analyze, and process data efficiently.

Sorting is a fundamental concept in data structures because many algorithms rely on ordered data. It helps reduce time complexity in tasks like searching, merging, and reporting. There are various sorting algorithms used in programming such as Bubble Sort, Selection Sort, Insertion Sort, Merge Sort, and Quick Sort. Each of these has different characteristics in terms of speed and memory usage.