Sorting Algorithm

Question

I have this linked list containing hashed values of a set images. I am plan to run a simplistic but a very quick sort for the same and so far I am stuck with just two of them, merge sort and quick sort.

My quick sort implementation seems to have gone haywire and is taking a painstakingly long 15 seconds (approx.) to sort out over 10 images. Merge sort seems to be working fine but it just doesnt seem that fast (approx. 3 seconds).

Any other suggestions would be fine too.

P.S.: I am building an image viewer for windows mobile and my main criteria for the application is speed, jut that I need a sorting algorithm for sorting the images via their ranging contrast levels. (Its just an experiment).

Any other inputs would be really helpful too.

Answer 1

How about using a sorted list that places the image in the correct position at insert time? You'll still have the cost of finding the insertion point but it might be more user-friendly e.g. if the user is manually choosing from a list of pictures then a slightly longer insert time could be OK.

Answer 2

Note that quick sort requires access to arbitrary elements in the array in constant time O(1) to work fast. Linked list takes O(n)...