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What does "quicksort" mean in programming?
quicksort is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
A fast, in-place sorting algorithm that selects a pivot element and partitions the array into elements smaller and larger than the pivot, then sorts each partition recursively. Average O(n log n), worst case O(n²) with a bad pivot. Used in most standard library sort implementations.
Example
"Quicksort with pivot 5 on [3, 8, 1, 5, 2]: partition into [3, 1, 2] and [8], then sort each."
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