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Parallel integer sorting using small operations

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Abstract

We consider the problem of sortingn integers in the range [0,n c-1], wherec is a constant. It has been shown by Rajasekaran and Sen [14] that this problem can be solved “optimally” inO(logn) steps on an EREW PRAM withO(n) n ∈-bit operations, for any constant ∈>O. Though the number of operations is optimal, each operation is very large. In this paper, we show thatn integers in the range [0,n c-1] can be sorted inO(logn) time withO(nlogn)O(1)-bit operations andO(n) O(logn)-bit operations. The model used is a non-standard variant of an EREW PRAMtthat permits processors to have word-sizes ofO(1)-bits and Θ(logn)-bits. Clearly, the speed of the proposed algorithm is optimal. Considering that the input to the problem consists ofO (n logn) bits, the proposed algorithm performs an optimal amount of work, measured at the bit level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lousiana State University, 70803-5901, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Ramachandran Vaidyanathan

  2. School of Computer and Information Science, Syracuse University, 13244-4100, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Carlos R. P. Hartmann

  3. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Syracuse University, 13244-1240, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Pramod K. Varshney

Authors
  1. Ramachandran Vaidyanathan
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  2. Carlos R. P. Hartmann
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  3. Pramod K. Varshney
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Additional information

This work was partially supported by The Northeast Parallel Architectures Center (NPAC) at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244 and The Rome Air Development Center, under contract F30602-88-D-0027.

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Vaidyanathan, R., Hartmann, C.R.P. & Varshney, P.K. Parallel integer sorting using small operations. Acta Informatica 32, 79–92 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01185406

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01185406

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