394 research outputs found
Worst-Case Efficient Sorting with QuickMergesort
The two most prominent solutions for the sorting problem are Quicksort and
Mergesort. While Quicksort is very fast on average, Mergesort additionally
gives worst-case guarantees, but needs extra space for a linear number of
elements. Worst-case efficient in-place sorting, however, remains a challenge:
the standard solution, Heapsort, suffers from a bad cache behavior and is also
not overly fast for in-cache instances.
In this work we present median-of-medians QuickMergesort (MoMQuickMergesort),
a new variant of QuickMergesort, which combines Quicksort with Mergesort
allowing the latter to be implemented in place. Our new variant applies the
median-of-medians algorithm for selecting pivots in order to circumvent the
quadratic worst case. Indeed, we show that it uses at most
comparisons for large enough.
We experimentally confirm the theoretical estimates and show that the new
algorithm outperforms Heapsort by far and is only around 10% slower than
Introsort (std::sort implementation of stdlibc++), which has a rather poor
guarantee for the worst case. We also simulate the worst case, which is only
around 10% slower than the average case. In particular, the new algorithm is a
natural candidate to replace Heapsort as a worst-case stopper in Introsort
QuickHeapsort: Modifications and improved analysis
We present a new analysis for QuickHeapsort splitting it into the analysis of
the partition-phases and the analysis of the heap-phases. This enables us to
consider samples of non-constant size for the pivot selection and leads to
better theoretical bounds for the algorithm. Furthermore we introduce some
modifications of QuickHeapsort, both in-place and using n extra bits. We show
that on every input the expected number of comparisons is n lg n - 0.03n + o(n)
(in-place) respectively n lg n -0.997 n+ o (n). Both estimates improve the
previously known best results. (It is conjectured in Wegener93 that the
in-place algorithm Bottom-Up-Heapsort uses at most n lg n + 0.4 n on average
and for Weak-Heapsort which uses n extra-bits the average number of comparisons
is at most n lg n -0.42n in EdelkampS02.) Moreover, our non-in-place variant
can even compete with index based Heapsort variants (e.g. Rank-Heapsort in
WangW07) and Relaxed-Weak-Heapsort (n lg n -0.9 n+ o (n) comparisons in the
worst case) for which no O(n)-bound on the number of extra bits is known
QuickXsort: Efficient Sorting with n log n - 1.399n +o(n) Comparisons on Average
In this paper we generalize the idea of QuickHeapsort leading to the notion
of QuickXsort. Given some external sorting algorithm X, QuickXsort yields an
internal sorting algorithm if X satisfies certain natural conditions.
With QuickWeakHeapsort and QuickMergesort we present two examples for the
QuickXsort-construction. Both are efficient algorithms that incur approximately
n log n - 1.26n +o(n) comparisons on the average. A worst case of n log n +
O(n) comparisons can be achieved without significantly affecting the average
case.
Furthermore, we describe an implementation of MergeInsertion for small n.
Taking MergeInsertion as a base case for QuickMergesort, we establish a
worst-case efficient sorting algorithm calling for n log n - 1.3999n + o(n)
comparisons on average. QuickMergesort with constant size base cases shows the
best performance on practical inputs: when sorting integers it is slower by
only 15% to STL-Introsort
The Cost of Address Translation
Modern computers are not random access machines (RAMs). They have a memory
hierarchy, multiple cores, and virtual memory. In this paper, we address the
computational cost of address translation in virtual memory. Starting point for
our work is the observation that the analysis of some simple algorithms (random
scan of an array, binary search, heapsort) in either the RAM model or the EM
model (external memory model) does not correctly predict growth rates of actual
running times. We propose the VAT model (virtual address translation) to
account for the cost of address translations and analyze the algorithms
mentioned above and others in the model. The predictions agree with the
measurements. We also analyze the VAT-cost of cache-oblivious algorithms.Comment: A extended abstract of this paper was published in the proceedings of
ALENEX13, New Orleans, US
Heaps and heapsort on secondary storage
AbstractA heap structure designed for secondary storage is suggested that tries to make the best use of the available buffer space in primary memory. The heap is a complete multi-way tree, with multi-page blocks of records as nodes, satisfying a generalized heap property. A special feature of the tree is that the nodes may be partially filled, as in B-trees. The structure is complemented with priority-queue operations insert and delete-max. When handling a sequence of S operations, the number of page transfers performed is shown to be O(∑i = 1S(1P) log(MP)(NiP)), where P denotes the number of records fitting into a page, M the capacity of the buffer space in records, and Ni, the number of records in the heap prior to the ith operation (assuming P ⩾ 1 and S > M ⩾ c · P, where c is a small positive constant). The number of comparisons required when handling the sequence is O(∑i = 1S log2 Ni). Using the suggested data structure we obtain an optimal external heapsort that performs O((NP) log(MP)(NP)) page transfers and O(N log2 N) comparisons in the worst case when sorting N records
Cache-Oblivious VAT-Algorithms
The VAT-model (virtual address translation model) extends the EM-model
(external memory model) and takes the cost of address translation in virtual
memories into account. In this model, the cost of a single memory access may be
logarithmic in the largest address used. We show that the VAT-cost of
cache-oblivious algorithms is only by a constant factor larger than their
EM-cost; this requires a somewhat more stringent tall cache assumption as for
the EM-model
Empirical modelling principles to support learning in a cultural context
Much research on pedagogy stresses the need for a broad perspective on learning. Such a perspective might take account (for instance) of the experience that informs knowledge and understanding [Tur91], the situation in which the learning activity takes place [Lav88], and the influence of multiple intelligences [Gar83]. Educational technology appears to hold great promise in this connection. Computer-related technologies such as new media, the internet, virtual reality and brain-mediated communication afford access to a range of learning resources that grows ever wider in its scope and supports ever more sophisticated interactions.
Whether educational technology is fulfilling its potential in broadening the horizons for learning activity is more controversial. Though some see the successful development of radically new educational resources as merely a matter of time, investment and engineering, there are also many critics of the trends in computer-based learning who see little evidence of the greater degree of human engagement to which new technologies aspire [Tal95].
This paper reviews the potential application to educational technology of principles and tools for computer-based modelling that have been developed under the auspices of the Empirical Modelling (EM) project at Warwick [EMweb]. This theme was first addressed at length in a previous paper [Bey97], and is here revisited in the light of new practical developments in EM both in respect of tools and of model-building that has been targetted at education at various levels. Our central thesis is that the problems of educational technology stem from the limitations of current conceptual frameworks and tool support for the essential cognitive model building activity, and that tackling these problems requires a radical shift in philosophical perspective on the nature and role of empirical knowledge that has significant practical implications.
The paper is in two main sections. The first discusses the limitations of the classical computer science perspective where educational technology to support situated learning is concerned, and relates the learning activities that are most closely associated with a cultural context to the empiricist perspective on learning introduced in [Bey97]. The second outlines the principles of EM and describes and illustrates features of its practical application that are particularly well-suited to learning in a cultural setting
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