Insertion sort is a very intuitive algorithm as humans use this pattern naturally when sorting cards in our hands.
In this lesson, using TypeScript / Javascript, we’ll cover how to implement this algorithm, why this algorithm gets its name, and the complexity of our implementation of the insertion algorithm.
/** * ary: [4,3,2,1] * * i = 1: * current 3 * j = 0 --> array[j + 1] = array[j] --> [4, 4] * j = -1 --> array[j + 1] = current -->[3, 4] * * i = 2: * current: 2 * j = 1 --> array[j + 1] = array[j] --> [3,4,4] * j = 0 --> array[j + 1] = array[j] --> [3,3,4] * j = -1 --> array[j + 1] = current --> [2,3,4] */
function insertionSort(ary) { let array = ary.slice(); for (let i = 1; i < array.length; i++) { let current = array[i]; let j = i - 1; while (j >= 0 && array[j] > current) { // move the j to j+1 array[j + 1] = array[j]; j--; } // j = -1 array[j + 1] = current; } return array; }