Insertion Sort

Insertion sort is a simple sorting algorithm that builds the final sorted array (or list) one item at a time. It is a comparison-based algorithm that builds a final sorted array one element at a time. It iterates through an input array and removes one element per iteration, finds the place the element belongs in the array, and then places it there.

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It is generally considered much less efficient on large lists than more advanced algorithms such as quicksort, heapsort, or merge sort although it does has its own advantages - see additional information below.

Challenge

#1 Write a Python program to sort a list of elements using the Insertion sort algorithm

#2 Comment each line of the python solution below to show your understanding of the algorithm

Try it yourself

Solution

def insertionSort(nlist):
   for index in range(1,len(nlist)):

     currentvalue = nlist[index]
     position = index

     while position>0 and nlist[position-1]>currentvalue:
         nlist[position]=nlist[position-1]
         position = position-1

     nlist[position]=currentvalue

nlist = [14,46,43,27,57,41,45,21,70]
insertionSort(nlist)
print(nlist)

Animated Demo

Flow Chart

Additional Information

Insertion sort provides several advantages:

• Simple implementation: Jon Bentley shows a three-line C version, and a five-line optimized version
• Efficient for (quite) small data sets, much like other quadratic sorting algorithms
• More efficient in practice than most other simple quadratic (i.e., O(n²)) algorithms such as selection sort or bubble sort
• Adaptive, i.e., efficient for data sets that are already substantially sorted: the time complexity is O(nk) when each element in the input is no more than k places away from its sorted position
• Stable; i.e., does not change the relative order of elements with equal keys
• In-place; i.e., only requires a constant amount O(1) of additional memory space