Skill

role-algorithms:sorting-and-searching

Implements sorting and searching algorithms — comparison sorts (quicksort/introsort, merge sort, heapsort, Timsort), non-comparison sorts (radix, counting, bucket), binary search variants (lower/upper bound, answer-space search), order statistics (quickselect, streaming median), string searching (KMP, Rabin-Karp, Boyer-Moore, Aho-Corasick, suffix arrays), and external sorting. Use when implementing sort orders, optimizing search in sorted data, multi-pattern string matching, or sorting data larger than memory.

Install

npx claudepluginhub rnavarych/alpha-engineer --plugin role-algorithms

Tool Access

This skill is limited to using the following tools:

ReadGrepGlobBash

Preview

- Selecting a sorting algorithm based on stability, memory, key type, or data distribution

Supporting Assets

references/binary-search-and-order-statistics.mdreferences/comparison-and-noncomparison-sorts.mdreferences/string-searching-and-external.md

SKILL.md

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Parent Repo Stars9

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Last CommitMar 3, 2026

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role-algorithms:sorting-and-searching

When to use

Selecting a sorting algorithm based on stability, memory, key type, or data distribution

Implementing lower/upper bound binary search or binary search on an answer space

Finding the k-th smallest element or maintaining a streaming median

Implementing single-pattern (KMP, Boyer-Moore) or multi-pattern (Aho-Corasick) string matching

Building suffix arrays for repeated substring queries on large texts

Sorting datasets that exceed available memory (external k-way merge sort)

Core principles

Timsort wins on real-world data — natural runs and partial ordering are the norm, not the exception

Radix sort beats comparison sorts when key range is bounded — O(dn) < O(n log n) when d is small

Binary search on the answer, not just the array — if you can check feasibility in O(f(n)), you can binary search the answer space

Boyer-Moore is sublinear on average — for single-pattern search on natural text it reads fewer characters than the input length

Aho-Corasick when patterns > 1 — one pass over the text regardless of how many patterns you search for

Reference Files

references/comparison-and-noncomparison-sorts.md — quicksort (introsort fallback), merge sort, heapsort, Timsort (galloping mode), comparison lower bound, counting sort, radix sort (LSD/MSD), bucket sort with selection guide

references/binary-search-and-order-statistics.md — standard search, lower/upper bound (bisect_left/right), binary search on answer space, fractional binary search, quickselect, median-of-medians, streaming median with two heaps

references/string-searching-and-external.md — KMP failure function, Rabin-Karp rolling hash, Boyer-Moore bad-character and good-suffix rules, Aho-Corasick automaton, suffix arrays with LCP, external k-way merge sort, I/O optimization strategies

Sorting and Searching

When to use

Selecting a sorting algorithm based on stability, memory, key type, or data distribution
Implementing lower/upper bound binary search or binary search on an answer space
Finding the k-th smallest element or maintaining a streaming median
Implementing single-pattern (KMP, Boyer-Moore) or multi-pattern (Aho-Corasick) string matching
Building suffix arrays for repeated substring queries on large texts
Sorting datasets that exceed available memory (external k-way merge sort)

Core principles

Timsort wins on real-world data — natural runs and partial ordering are the norm, not the exception
Radix sort beats comparison sorts when key range is bounded — O(dn) < O(n log n) when d is small
Binary search on the answer, not just the array — if you can check feasibility in O(f(n)), you can binary search the answer space
Boyer-Moore is sublinear on average — for single-pattern search on natural text it reads fewer characters than the input length
Aho-Corasick when patterns > 1 — one pass over the text regardless of how many patterns you search for

Reference Files

references/comparison-and-noncomparison-sorts.md — quicksort (introsort fallback), merge sort, heapsort, Timsort (galloping mode), comparison lower bound, counting sort, radix sort (LSD/MSD), bucket sort with selection guide
references/binary-search-and-order-statistics.md — standard search, lower/upper bound (bisect_left/right), binary search on answer space, fractional binary search, quickselect, median-of-medians, streaming median with two heaps
references/string-searching-and-external.md — KMP failure function, Rabin-Karp rolling hash, Boyer-Moore bad-character and good-suffix rules, Aho-Corasick automaton, suffix arrays with LCP, external k-way merge sort, I/O optimization strategies