Thread: Need help sorting 2 arrays.

Hello everyone.

I'm trying to write a program where a user will enter a set of x,y coordinates and the program will sort them based on their distance from the origin using sqrt (x*x + y*y). The x and y coordinates each go into their own array, but are supposed to be sorted in one function.

This is what i have so far.

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>

#define MAX_LIST_SIZE 10


float calc_z (int x, int y);
void sort_xy (int x[], int y[]); 
 
int i,j,hold, choice, coordNumber;
  int x[MAX_LIST_SIZE], y[MAX_LIST_SIZE];


void main () {
 

  while (1) {
    printf ("Enter (1) to run (2) to quit: ");
    scanf ("%d", &choice);
    if (choice == 2) return;
    else {
      printf("How many coordinates do you want to enter in: ");
      scanf ("%d", &coordNumber);
	
	
	
	  for (i = 0; i < coordNumber; i++) {
	printf ("enter x,y: ");
	scanf ("%d,%d", &x[i], &y[i]);
	  }
  
	  
void sort_xy (int x[], int y[]);
	  
	  
	  for (i = 0; i < coordNumber; i++) {
		printf("%d %d\n", x[i], y[i]);}
	  }
      
    }
  }





void sort_xy (int x[], int y[]){

	for (j=1; j<coordNumber; j++){
		for (i=0; i < coordNumber-1; i++){         
                                                     /*  VV Problem here probably  VV*/
			if (float sqrt(x[i]*x[i]+y[i]*y[i]) >  float sqrt(x[i+1]*x[i+1]+y[i+1]*y[i+1])) {
				hold= x[i+1];
				x[i + 1]=x[i];
				x[i] = hold;
			}}}}

When I try to build this I get the following errors:

error C2061: syntax error : identifier 'x'
: error C2059: syntax error : '>'
error C2143: syntax error : missing ';' before '{'


I have tried using another function to figure out the distance, but I couldn't figure out how to incorporate it into the sorting one.
If someone could point this noob in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

Why do you have the words "float" in your sort_xy function?

"(float sqrt(x[i]*x[i]+y[i]*y[i]) > float sqrt(x[i+1]*x[i+1]+y[i+1]*y[i+1]))"

???

try (sqrt((float)(x[i]*x[i]+y[i]*y[i])) > sqrt((float)(x[i+1]*x[i+1]+y[i+1]*y[i+1])))

Originally Posted by Epy

"(float sqrt(x[i]*x[i]+y[i]*y[i]) > float sqrt(x[i+1]*x[i+1]+y[i+1]*y[i+1]))"

???

try (sqrt((float)(x[i]*x[i]+y[i]*y[i])) > sqrt((float)(x[i+1]*x[i+1]+y[i+1]*y[i+1])))

That got rid of the errors. It's still not sorting though. Ill have to mess with it.

For the other question. I had the float in there because without it it gives me a
error C2668: 'sqrt' : ambiguous call to overloaded function.

So I wrote the function out like this:

Code:

void sort_xy (int x[], int y[] )  {
int hold1, hold2,j;
  for (i = 0; i < coordNumber -1 ; i++)  {
    for (j = i + 1 ; j < coordNumber; j++)  {         
           
      if (sqrt((float)(x[i]*x[i]+y[i]*y[i])) > sqrt((float)(x[j]*x[j]+y[j]*y[j])))  {
	hold1= x[j];                         
	x[j]=x[i];
	x[i] = hold1;
	hold2= y[j];                         
	y[j]=y[i];
	y[i] = hold2;
     }
    }
  }}

It still doesn't sort, however.

I also tried writing a separate function to determine the square root.

Code:

float calc_z (int x, int y) {
	float distance1;
	float distance2;
	distance1 = (x*x)+(y*y);
	distance2 =  sqrt(distance1);
	return distance2;}

But I can't figure out how to make it work with the other function.

Hey! Don't be talking bad about my favorite bubble sorter, now!

It's sorting just fine, but you're not getting what you want, because you're not using sqrt() correctly.

It's not enough to just say: sqrt(variable). You have to ASSIGN the result returned by sqrt(), into a variable.

like so:

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>


int main(void) {

   double num = 5.0;
   double result = 0.0;

   result = sqrt(num);
   printf("The square root of %lf is %lf", num, result);

   printf("\n\n\t\t\t     press enter when ready");
   num= getchar();
   return 0;
}

So, the sorter is fine, but you haven't changed any values in X[], since the results returned by sqrt(), were not saved anywhere.
Rumor has it they went to byte heaven.

So, when I have the square root of the coordinates, how would I implement it in my function to sort the two arrays?

Originally Posted by Posto2012

So, when I have the square root of the coordinates, how would I implement it in my function to sort the two arrays?

What do you want to sort by? Pick a key!

We could sort by the values in x[i], or by the values in y[i], or by things like x[i]+y[i], or by their distances?

Any key will be unlikely to match the sort order of any other key.

Choose your key, then it's ez-squeezy.

I need to sort the two arrays of x,y coordinates by their distance from the origin.
The user selects the coordinates and they go into two arrays, one for x and one for y.
So, i have to get the distance, and somehow resort the x and y pairs at the same time.

Originally Posted by iMalc

This code, apart from being badly formatted and containing some unnecessary sqrts, is actually completely correct, and will sort the array exactly as it should.

Adak, I thought you had seen me say this before, but that is not Bubble Sort! Bubble Sort is a stable sorting algorithm that only swaps adjacent items. Here i and j often differ by more than 1 so it swaps non-adjacent items and is not a stable sort, and not Bubble Sort. In fact if you see it animated you'll see a distinct lack of bubbling going on!

My bubble sort won't "bubble"? << eek! >>

I know it's not THE Bubble Sort, but that's the best name I've found for it. Maybe I should call it "bubble sorter", because it's "sorter" like bubble sort. < LOL >

Bubble sort is a bit faster than this one, but also a few more lines of code. Maybe I could call it "Ezsort". Sounds funny, but it fits it.

Would x[i] + y[i] comparing with x[j] + y[j] be good to sort by?

Maybe he needs to calculate and save the distances, and doesn't realize that you don't want to do that, in a sorting function - it makes for a lot of unnecessary computer work.

Posto, iMalc has given you some great advice here. You do NOT want to work with the sqrt() during the sorting code - it's horrid to have it here, and unneeded.

If you need to use sqrt(), then do it ONCE for each value, in another function, and save it.
(I'd use another array).

During sorting, sqrt() will have to be calculated many times over, for each value in the arrays. You DON'T want that!