C Exercises: Sort n numbers in range from 0 to n^2

Last update on August 01 2025 13:00:46 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

79. Sort n Numbers in Range 0 to n²

Write a program in C to sort n numbers in the range from 0 to n^2.

Expected Output:
The given array is: 37 62 52 7 48 3 15 61
Sorted array is: 3 7 15 37 48 52 61 62

The task is to write a C program that sorts an array of n numbers where each number falls within the range from 0 to n^2. The program should use an efficient sorting algorithm to arrange the elements in ascending order. The output should display both the original and the sorted arrays.

Visual Presentation:

C Exercises: Sort n numbers in range from 0 to n^2.

Sample Solution:

C Code:

#include <stdio.h>

// Function to perform counting sort for given array considering a specific exponent
int countSort(int arr1[], int n, int exp) {
    int output[n]; // Output array to store sorted elements
    int i, ctr[n]; // Counter array to store count of occurrences for each digit

    // Initialize counter array to 0
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        ctr[i] = 0;

    // Count occurrences of digits based on the specified exponent
    for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
        ctr[(arr1[i] / exp) % n]++;

    // Update counter array to store cumulative occurrences
    for (i = 1; i < n; i++)
        ctr[i] += ctr[i - 1];

    // Build the output array by placing elements in their correct positions
    for (i = n - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
        output[ctr[(arr1[i] / exp) % n] - 1] = arr1[i];
        ctr[(arr1[i] / exp) % n]--;
    }

    // Copy the sorted elements from the output array to the original array
    for (i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr1[i] = output[i];
}

// Function to perform radix sort for the given array
void sortArray(int arr1[], int n) {
    countSort(arr1, n, 1); // Sort based on least significant digit
    countSort(arr1, n, n); // Sort based on most significant digit
}

// Function to print elements of the array
void printBothArr(int arr1[], int n) {
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        printf("%d  ", arr1[i]);
}

int main() {
    int arr1[] = {37, 62, 52, 7, 48, 3, 15, 61};
    int n = sizeof(arr1) / sizeof(arr1[0]);

    // Display the original array
    printf("The given array is:  ");
    printBothArr(arr1, n);

    // Perform radix sort on the array
    sortArray(arr1, n);

    // Display the sorted array
    printf("\nSorted array is:  ");
    printBothArr(arr1, n);

    return 0;
}

Output:

The given array is:  37  62  52  7  48  3  15  61  
Sorted array is:  3  7  15  37  48  52  61  62

Flowchart:/p>

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a C program to sort numbers in the range 0 to n² using counting sort.
Write a C program to sort an array of numbers where each number is less than or equal to n² using bucket sort.
Write a C program to sort the array using a modified quicksort optimized for small ranges.
Write a C program to sort the numbers using recursion and then verify the order using a loop.

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