FAST SORTING ALGORITHMS ON UNIFORM LADDERS (MULTIPLE SHIFT-REGISTER LOOPS).

Abstract

Two sorting algorithms on the uniform ladder (a new storage device based on charged coupled devices, or magnetic bubbles implementation, are presented. When one ladder cannot accommodate all the input records and two or more ladders are needed, Algorithm 2 attains a negligible unoverlapped sorting time (which can be removed with a minor modification in the system hardware and hence in Algorithm 2). In comparison, Algorithm 2 obviates the need for explicit merging of the ladders. This implies that unlike the MLISO scheme, ladders are not tied up for merging, and can be recycled once their contents are outputted. Therefore, in a real processing environment, the number of ladders required by Algorithm 2 may even be less than the theoretical minimum which can be attained by the MLISO scheme.