Which is the best sorting method?

There is no sorting method that is universally superior to all others. The programmer must carefully examine the problem and the desired results before deciding the particular sorting method. Some of the sorting methods are given below:

Bubble sort : When a file containing records is to be sorted then Bubble sort is the best sorting method when sorting by address is used.

Bsort : It can be recommended if the input to the file is known to be nearly sorted.

Meansort : It can be recommended only for input known to be very nearly sorted.

Quick Sort : In the virtual memory environment, where pages of data are constantly being swapped back and forth between external and internal storage. In practical situations, quick sort is often the fastest available because of its low overhead and its average behavior.

Heap sort : Generally used for sorting of complete binary tree. Simple insertion sort and straight selection sort : Both are more efficient than bubble sort. Selection sort is recommended for small files when records are large and for reverse situation insertion sort is recommended. The heap sort and quick sort are both more efficient than insertion or selection for large number of data.

Shell sort :  It is recommended for moderately sized files of several hundred elements.

Radix sort : It is reasonably efficient if the number of digits in the keys is not too large.