Everything you wanted to know about the running time of Mergesort but were afraid to ask

Although mergesort is an algorithm that is frequently glossed over in textbooks, it provides fertile ground for planting ideas about algorithm analysis in the minds of students. All too easily we can fall into the trap of assuming n is a power of 2 in our analyses, which can befuddle beginning students into thinking that our results are useless in practice. Here then is an excruciatingly detailed analysis of mergesort for the student whose enquiring mind truly wants to know.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 1998
• Where: SIGACT
• Authors: Ian Parberry
• Keywords: Algorithm, Algorithm Analysis, Fertile Ground, SIGACT 1998