Challenge
Sorting a stack of numbers using only a restricted set of operations, while minimizing the total number of instructions: a pure algorithmic problem where the sorting strategy makes all the difference.
École 42 ParisStudent, École 42 project
Push_swap: sorting a stack with a limited instruction set
École 42 project, a sorting algorithm in C for a stack of numbers using a restricted instruction set (swap, push, rotate, reverse rotate), while minimizing the number of operations.
Impact
- Sorting a stack via a restricted instruction set
- Strategy for optimizing the number of operations
- Robust parsing and validation of inputs
Context
Push_swap is a project from the École 42 (Paris) curriculum, completed in 2022 as a student. The exercise serves as an algorithms playground within a deliberately constrained framework: it exercises the cost of moves and the memory management of stack structures, beyond sorting logic alone.
What was done
A sorting algorithm on two stacks in C, relying on the allowed
operations (sa, pb, ra, rra…), with an optimization strategy for the
number of operations and robust parsing of the input arguments.
Stack
The technologies used on this mission.
- C
- Algorithmique
- Stack structures
- Optimisation
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