eli5 what’s the point of having so many sorting algorithms if the primary objective is to sort, i mean why can’t we just use one algorithm for all

Question

eli5 what’s the point of having so many sorting algorithms if the primary objective is to sort, i mean why can’t we just use one algorithm for all

In: 6

Answer 1

A bonus consideration to all of this is that writing and explaining sorting algorithms can be fun and educational! It’s a simple task with a clear goal, and the activity of the algorithm is easy to visualize. Students learn a lot of sorting algorithms both because e.g. bubble sort is an easy coding project for a beginner *and* because contrasting it with quicksort is a good way of teaching complexity/efficiency. When those students grow up to be coders, they probably won’t be thinking hard about what sorting algorithm to use, but they may apply the principles of those algorithms to new tasks.

Also, bogosort and stooge sort are just funny. Everyone loves a clumsy robot.