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spaghetti sort
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English
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Schematic diagram of spaghetti sorting. The spaghetti can be sorted by removing them from the bundle on the table in the order they stick out.
Etymology
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Introduced by A. K. Dewdney in a
Scientific American
column.
Noun
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spaghetti
sort
(
plural
spaghetti sorts
)
(
computing
theory
)
A
linear-time
algorithm
for sorting a
sequence
of items,
analogous
to standing a number of
strands
of
spaghetti
of different lengths upright on a
surface
and noting the order in which they are encountered when lowering one's hand from above.