Parallel computing techniques for sequential and multi-core sorting

We adapt techniques employed in the design of parallel sorting algorithms to propose new sequential and multi-core sorting operations. The proposed approach is used to develop asymptotically efficient deterministic and randomized sorting operations whose practical sequential and multi-core performance, as witnessed by an experimental study, matches or surpasses existing optimized sorting algorithm implementations. We utilize techniques employed in parallel sorting such as deterministic regular sampling and random oversampling. We extend the notion of deterministic regular sampling into deterministic regular oversampling for sequential and multi-core sorting and demonstrate its potential along with the previously used technique of random oversampling. We then show how our techniques can not only utilize but also potentially speedup several existing sequential sorting algorithms and also lead to better multi-core sorting algorithm performance. Experimental results based on an implementation of our two operations support our claims on sequential and multi-core processors.