Merge sort is a sorting algorithm that follows the divide-and-conquer approach, and it is particularly useful for sorting large datasets efficiently. It divides the input array into smaller subarrays, recursively sorts them, and then merges the sorted subarrays to obtain the final sorted array. Merge sort is known for its stability, which means that elements with equal values maintain their relative order in the sorted output.
To understand merge sort, let’s use a deck of cards as an example. Imagine you have a deck of 52 cards, and you want to sort them in ascending order based on their values (Ace being the lowest and King being the highest). Here’s how you can apply merge sort to sort the deck:
