ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR)
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PRIOR TO DESCRIBING the details of a generalized sort program, it is first necessary to discuss the objectives and organization of such a program so as to minimize the semantics which usually arise in a discussion of any aspect of the data processing art. A sort is a computer program which arranges data records (or messages) into a sequence in accordance with keys (or criteria) contained within the record. A generalized sort must be provided with information which includes the record length, the location of keys within the record and other information which is dependent upon the user's requirements. I n operation, it passes through two phases: One in which it analyzes the user provided in formation and modifies the generalized skeletal sort program which is independent of the data to be sorted; the second in which the modified skeleton performs its specialized sorting function. The first phase is in reality a sort generator that analyzes parameters, generates constants, and builds complete routines for insertion into the skeleton. It is truly a generator because it will provide a copy of the modified/ generated sort program which may at any subsequent time be independently operated on sets of data identical in format to that specified to the generator. The sort to be discussed in this paper may be operated as either a generalized sort, i.e., both phases run successively, or as a sort generator.