An iterative way of writing merge sort:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
void merge(int A[], int l, int r, int e, int B[]) {
int i = l, j = r, k = l;
while (i<r && j<e) {
if (A[i] > A[j]) B[k++] = A[j++];
else B[k++] = A[i++];
}
while (i < r) B[k++] = A[i++];
while (j < e) B[k++] = A[j++];
}
void mergeSort(int A[], int n) {
int *B = new int[n];
for (int w=1; w<n; w<<=1) {
for (int i=0; i<n; i+=(w<<1)) {
merge(A, i, min(i+w, n), min(i+(w<<1), n), B);
}
for (int i=0; i<n; ++i) A[i] = B[i];
}
delete[] B;
}
int main() {
int A[5] = {5,4,3,2,1};
mergeSort(A, 5);
for (int i=0; i<5; ++i) cout<<A[i]<<" ";
return 0;
}