Sorting a string array length wise

Question

I am required to sort an array with selection sort. I wanted it to to sort a string array in increasing order of length of its specific string elements.

It doesn't give the required output.

String[] a = sc.nextLine().trim().split(" ");
for (int i = 0;i< a.length-1;i++) {
    String min = a[i];
    for (int j = i + 1; j < a.length; j++) {
        if (a[j].length() < min.length()) min = a[j];
    }
    String t = a[i];
    a[i] = min;
    min = t;
}

I tried to observe the array elements by using System.out.println(Arrays.toString(a));

Here's what i got and what i want:

On inputting,

Hello Java Its me

Observed Output

me me me me

Expected Output

me Its Java Hello

that is according to the length of a's string elements.

Is there a particular reason you are trying to create your own sorting algorithm instead of just using Arrays.sort(a, Comparators.comparingInt(String::length))? — Zabuzard
– Zabuzard, Commented Oct 17, 2023 at 13:04
It would be helpful if you also provide an example input that fails to sort as expected. Together with the current and expected output. — Zabuzard
– Zabuzard, Commented Oct 17, 2023 at 13:06
@Zabuzard Done! And yaa we require to create or modify sorting algorithm just using basic loops as per our syllabus. — Darshit Sharma
– Darshit Sharma, Commented Oct 17, 2023 at 13:17

Zabuzard · Accepted Answer · 2023-10-17 13:29:42Z

3

You didn't correctly swap. You need to save the index of min element and swap a[i] and a[minIdx].

        String[] a = sc.nextLine().trim().split(" ");
        for (int i = 0;i< a.length-1;i++) {
            String min = a[i];
            int minIdx = i; // <-- remember min index
            for (int j = i + 1; j < a.length; j++) {
                if (a[j].length() < min.length()) {
                    min = a[j];
                    minIdx = j; // <-- update min index
                }
            }
            String t = a[i];
            a[i] = min;
            a[minIdx] = t; // <-- proper swap
        }

edited Oct 17, 2023 at 13:29

Zabuzard

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answered Oct 17, 2023 at 13:21

Rifat Rubayatul Islam

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Comments

yunfei · Accepted Answer · 2023-10-17 13:33:21Z

2

update

String[] a = sc.nextLine().trim().split(" ");
for (int i = 0; i < a.length - 1; i++) {
    int minIndex = i;
    for (int j = i + 1; j < a.length; j++) {
        if (a[j].length() < a[minIndex].length()) {
            minIndex = j;
        }
    }
    String temp = a[i];
    a[i] = a[minIndex];
    a[minIndex] = temp;
}
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(a));

This code first initializes a variable minIndex to the current index i.

It then iterates through the rest of the array, comparing the length of each string element with the length of the string at minIndex.

If it finds a string with a shorter length, it updates minIndex to point to that string.

After the inner loop finishes, it swaps the string at i with the string at minIndex, effectively placing the string with the shortest length in the first position.

The outer loop repeats this process until all strings have been sorted in increasing order of their lengths.

The code you provided is not sorting the array in increasing order of length of its specific string elements. Instead, it is swapping the elements in the array such that the shortest string is at the beginning of the array. To sort the array in increasing order of length of its specific string elements, you can use the Arrays.sort() method and pass a custom comparator that compares the lengths of the strings. Here's an example:

String[] a = sc.nextLine().trim().split(" ");
Arrays.sort(a, new Comparator<String>() {
    public int compare(String s1, String s2) {
        return s1.length() - s2.length();
    }
});
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(a));

This will give you the expected output:

me Its Java Hello

edited Oct 17, 2023 at 13:33

answered Oct 17, 2023 at 13:26

yunfei

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2 Comments

Zabuzard Over a year ago

While correct, this doesnt answer OPs question. OP is required to write selection sort by hand.

yunfei Over a year ago

I apologize for misunderstanding the question. I made an updated implementation of selection sort that sorts a string array in increasing order of length of its specific string elements.

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