English[edit]
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[edit]
Introduced by A. K. Dewdney in a Scientific American column.
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.
