Insertion sort vs Bubble Sort Algorithms

algorithmsorting

I'm trying to understand a few sorting algorithms, but I'm struggling to see the difference in the bubble sort and insertion sort algorithm.

I know both are O(n2), but it seems to me that bubble sort just bubbles the maximum value of the array to the top for each pass, while insertion sort just sinks the lowest value to the bottom each pass. Aren't they doing the exact same thing but in different directions?

For insertion sort, the number of comparisons/potential swaps starts at zero and increases each time (ie 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …, n) but for bubble sort this same behaviour happens, but at the end of the sorting (ie n, n-1, n-2, … 0) because bubble sort no longer needs to compare with the last elements as they are sorted.

For all this though, it seems a consensus that insertion sort is better in general. Can anyone tell me why?

Edit: I'm primarily interested in the differences in how the algorithms work, not so much their efficiency or asymptotic complexity.

Best Answer

Insertion Sort

After i iterations the first i elements are ordered.

In each iteration the next element is bubbled through the sorted section until it reaches the right spot:

sorted  | unsorted
1 3 5 8 | 4 6 7 9 2
1 3 4 5 8 | 6 7 9 2

The 4 is bubbled into the sorted section

Pseudocode:

for i in 1 to n
    for j in i downto 2
        if array[j - 1] > array[j]
            swap(array[j - 1], array[j])
        else
            break

Bubble Sort

After i iterations the last i elements are the biggest, and ordered.

In each iteration, sift through the unsorted section to find the maximum.

unsorted  | biggest
3 1 5 4 2 | 6 7 8 9
1 3 4 2 | 5 6 7 8 9

The 5 is bubbled out of the unsorted section

Pseudocode:

for i in 1 to n
    for j in 1 to n - i
         if array[j] > array[j + 1]
             swap(array[j], array[j + 1])

Note that typical implementations terminate early if no swaps are made during one of the iterations of the outer loop (since that means the array is sorted).

Difference

In insertion sort elements are bubbled into the sorted section, while in bubble sort the maximums are bubbled out of the unsorted section.

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