Array Sort Without Built-ins | Dataford Interview Questions

In an Incedo QA automation pipeline, test results arrive as an unsorted array of integer execution times. Implement a function that returns the values in nondecreasing order without using Python's built-in sort() or sorted() functions.

Use an algorithm with O(n log n) worst-case time complexity. The input array may contain duplicate values, zero, and negative integers. The function may allocate additional memory, but it must not call any library or built-in sorting routine.

Formal Specification

Input: nums, a list of integers.
Output: A new list containing the same integers as nums, arranged in nondecreasing order.
The input list itself does not need to be modified.
Do not use sort(), sorted(), heaps, or external sorting libraries.

Constraints

0 <= nums.length <= 10^5
-10^9 <= nums[i] <= 10^9
Do not use sort(), sorted(), heaps, or external sorting libraries
Return exactly the same elements as the input in nondecreasing order

Function Signature

def sort_array(nums):

Your question is Array Sort Without Built-ins. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

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Problem

Formal Specification

Input: nums, a list of integers.
Output: A new list containing the same integers as nums, arranged in nondecreasing order.
The input list itself does not need to be modified.
Do not use sort(), sorted(), heaps, or external sorting libraries.

Constraints

0 <= nums.length <= 10^5
-10^9 <= nums[i] <= 10^9
Do not use sort(), sorted(), heaps, or external sorting libraries
Return exactly the same elements as the input in nondecreasing order

Function Signature

def sort_array(nums):

Your question is Array Sort Without Built-ins. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.