Bubble Sort also known as Sinking Sort is the simplest sorting algorithm. It swaps the numbers if they are not in correct order. The Worst Case Time Complexity is O(n^2)
- Compares the first element with the next element.
- If the first element is larger than the next element then the elements are swapped.
- Step 2 is performed until the selected number is put to its correct position then the next element is compared.
- Multiple passes are made until the sorting is completed.
Given array is 5 1 4 2 8
Sorted array is 1 2 4 5 8
Steps First Pass
- ( 5 1 4 2 8 ) → ( 1 5 4 2 8 ), Here, algorithm compares the first two elements, and swaps since 5 > 1.
- ( 1 5 4 2 8 ) → ( 1 4 5 2 8 ), Swap since 5 > 4
- ( 1 4 5 2 8 ) → ( 1 4 2 5 8 ), Swap since 5 > 2
- ( 1 4 2 5 8 ) → ( 1 4 2 5 8 ), Now, since these elements are already in order (8 > 5), algorithm does not swap them.
Second Pass
- ( 1 4 2 5 8 ) → ( 1 4 2 5 8 )
- ( 1 4 2 5 8 ) → ( 1 2 4 5 8 ), Swap since 4 > 2
- ( 1 2 4 5 8 ) → ( 1 2 4 5 8 )
- ( 1 2 4 5 8 ) → ( 1 2 4 5 8 )
Now, the array is already sorted, but the algorithm does not know if it is completed. The algorithm needs one additional whole pass without any swap to know it is sorted.
Third Pass
- ( 1 2 4 5 8 ) → ( 1 2 4 5 8 )
- ( 1 2 4 5 8 ) → ( 1 2 4 5 8 )
- ( 1 2 4 5 8 ) → ( 1 2 4 5 8 )
- ( 1 2 4 5 8 ) → ( 1 2 4 5 8 )