What is heap sort and how does it work?

What is heap sort and how does it work?

Heap sort is a comparison-based sorting algorithm that uses a binary heap data structure. It works by first building a max heap from the input data, then repeatedly extracting the maximum element from the heap and rebuilding the heap until all elements are sorted.

Can you explain how to build a max heap?

To build a max heap, you start from the last non-leaf node and perform the heapify process, which ensures that each parent node is greater than its children. You repeat this for all non-leaf nodes moving upwards to the root.

What is the time complexity of heap sort?

The time complexity of heap sort is O(n log n) for both the average and worst-case scenarios, making it efficient for large datasets.

Are there any advantages of using heap sort over other sorting algorithms?

Yes, heap sort has a few advantages: it has a guaranteed O(n log n) time complexity, it is not recursive (which saves stack space), and it can sort in place with a constant amount of additional space.