Explain Merge Sort?

Merge Sort is a sorting algorithm that follows the divide-and-conquer paradigm to sort an array or list of elements. It works by dividing the input into smaller halves, recursively sorting those halves, and then merging them back together to produce a fully sorted result. The key steps are as follows:

• Divide: The unsorted list is divided into two halves.
• Conquer: Each half is recursively sorted using the merge sort algorithm.
• Merge: The sorted halves are merged back together into a single sorted list.

Key Points:

• Time Complexity: O(n log n) - Merge sort guarantees a consistent performance, making it efficient for large datasets.
• Stability: Merge sort is a stable sorting algorithm, meaning it preserves the relative order of equal elements in the sorted output.
• Space Complexity: Merge sort requires additional space proportional to the size of the input, which can be a consideration for memory usage in some scenarios.

Merge sort is widely used in practice due to its efficiency and stability. It is commonly employed for sorting linked lists and is one of the fundamental sorting algorithms.

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