# Sparse Sort

Sparse Sort is a C sorting algorithm designed to efficiently sort lists of integers. It is especially effective for lists with a high degree of uniformity, where many values are repeated.

## Features

- Efficiently sorts lists of integers.
- Well-suited for lists with a high degree of uniformity.
- Provides a C library with a simple API.
- Error handling for float input data.
- Not an in-place sorting algorithm.

## Usage

### Installation

To use the Sparse Sort library, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository or download the source code.

```shell
git clone https://github.com/cory.primm/sparse-sort.git
cd sparse-sort

Compile the library and create an executable. You can use the provided Makefile:
shell
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make
Use the library in your C programs by including the "sparseSort.h" header file and linking with the "sparseSort.c" source file.
Example
Here's an example of how to use the Sparse Sort library in your C program:

c
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#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include "sparseSort.h"

int main() {
    int input_arr[] = {3, 1, 2, 2, 4, 3, 1};
    int size = sizeof(input_arr) / sizeof(input_arr[0]);
    int sorted_size;
    
    int* sorted_output = sparseSort(input_arr, size, &sorted_size);
    
    for (int i = 0; i < sorted_size; i++) {
        printf("%d ", sorted_output[i]);
    }
    
    free(sorted_output);
    
    return 0;
}
Performance
Sparse Sort is particularly effective for lists of integers with a high degree of uniformity, where many values are repeated. It can outperform other sorting algorithms, like TimSort, for such datasets.

However, when dealing with data that is less uniformly distributed, TimSort may be a more suitable choice due to its adaptive nature.

Error Handling
Sparse Sort includes error handling for float input data. If the input array contains floats, an error message is displayed, and the program exits with an error code.

License
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Note: Sparse Sort is primarily designed for sorting integers and may not be suitable for sorting float data. Use it with integer data or consider converting floats to integers before sorting.

To use with Python:
(start your virtual environment)
pip3 install setuptools
python3 setup.py build_ext --inplace

and then in your python file it can be used as: 
`from sparse import sparsedSort`

and used like:
`newarr = sparsedSort(arr)`
Again this was written for an array of integers- the code comically defaults to Python's timsort when it's something else :D


.
├── Readme
├── __pycache__
│   └── sparse.cpython-310.pyc
├── pyproject.toml
├── setup.py
├── sparse.py
├── sparseModule.c
├── sparseModule.cpython-310-darwin.so
├── sparseModule.h
├── sparseSort.c
├── sparseSort.h
└── tests
    ├── logicInPython.py
    ├── multipleTests.py
    └── sparseTest.py