Nero Sort

Nero Sort Love at first index.

The idea is simple:

1. Neo sees the first number in the list.
2. Neo falls in love with it immediately.
3. From that moment on, every number Neo sees is turned into that first number.

The process is extremely decisive.

Algorithm

Given a list:

• If the list is empty, return the empty list.
• Save the first value as favorite.
• Replace every element in the list with favorite.
• Return the modified list.

Pseudocode

NeroSort(list):
    if list is empty:
        return list

    favorite = list[0]

    for i from 0 to length(list) - 1:
        list[i] = favorite

    return list

Example

Input:

[7, 2, 9, 4, 1]

Neo sees 7, falls in love, and decides every number deserves to be 7.

Output:

[7, 7, 7, 7, 7]

Behavior

Once the first value is chosen, the rest of the list aligns with it.

Complexity

• Time: O(n)
• Space: O(1) if done in place

Important Note

Nero Sort produces a highly consistent final list.