Manually Sorting an Array in Ascending Order

Question

I have a homework assignment to sort an array in ascending order. Obviously, this is to be done manually without using any kind of sort() function.

I figured to do it, I would need two for loops: the first one will loop through the existing array and create a temporary value with the value and index of the array. The second loop will compare the temporary values to the existing values and sort them. I keep trying to write the code, but I just can’t seem to get it right. Here is the latest method I came up with:

public int[] sortArray (int[] inArray)
{
    //Construct the array we're using here
    int[] newArray = inArray;

    for(int x = 0; x < a.length; x++) //a.length = # of indices in the array
    {
        int tempValue = a[x];
        int tempIndex = x;

        for(int y = 0; y < a.length; y++)
        {
            if(tempValue < a[y])
            {
                newArray[x] = tempValue;
            }
        }
    }

    return newArray;
}

I’m pretty sure this is incorrect, but if someone could push me in the right direction it would be very appreciated!

Answer 1

You have a nearly OK version of the Selection Sorter. You need to start your y at x+1, not at 0. Otherwise you're re-scanning the sorted portion of the array. You should also note that selection sort is an in-place algorithm; if you are looking to make a copy of the array, you should use Arrays.copy method, otherwise int[] newArray = inArray; is creating an alias, not a copy. Finally, the if statement in the nested loop should swap a[x] and a[y], not simply put tempValue in:

if(newArray[x] < newArray [y]) {
    int tempValue = newArray[y];
    newArray[y] = newArray[x];
    newArray[x] = tempValue;
}