push_swap is a sorting algorithm project that sorts a stack of integers using a limited set of operations. The goal is to sort the stack using the minimum number of operations possible, demonstrating algorithm optimization and efficient data structure manipulation.

• Stack Operations: Implements push, swap, and rotate operations on stacks
• Sorting Algorithms: Multiple sorting strategies for different stack sizes
• Optimization: Minimizes the number of operations required
• Visualization: Can display the sorting process step by step
• Performance: Efficient algorithms for various input sizes

• sa - Swap the first two elements of stack A
• sb - Swap the first two elements of stack B
• ss - Execute sa and sb simultaneously
• pa - Push the first element from stack B to stack A
• pb - Push the first element from stack A to stack B
• ra - Rotate stack A (first element becomes last)
• rb - Rotate stack B (first element becomes last)
• rr - Execute ra and rb simultaneously
• rra - Reverse rotate stack A (last element becomes first)
• rrb - Reverse rotate stack B (last element becomes first)
• rrr - Execute rra and rrb simultaneously

push_swap/
├── push_swap.h              # Header file with function declarations
├── push_swap.c              # Main program logic
├── operations.c             # Stack operation implementations
├── sorting.c                # Sorting algorithm implementations
├── utils.c                  # Utility functions
├── Makefile                 # Build configuration
└── .git/                   # Git repository

The project typically uses different sorting strategies based on stack size:

• Small stacks (≤ 3 elements): Simple swap-based sorting
• Medium stacks (4-5 elements): Optimized insertion sort
• Large stacks (> 5 elements): Divide and conquer with multiple stacks

# Compile the program
make

# Sort a list of numbers
./push_swap 2 1 3 6 5 8

# Check if the solution is correct
./push_swap 2 1 3 6 5 8 | ./checker 2 1 3 6 5 8

# Count the number of operations
./push_swap 2 1 3 6 5 8 | wc -l

• GCC compiler
• Make utility
• Standard C libraries
• Libft library (dependency)

This project depends on the Libft library for basic string and memory functions.

• 3 numbers: ≤ 3 operations
• 5 numbers: ≤ 12 operations
• 100 numbers: ≤ 700 operations
• 500 numbers: ≤ 5500 operations

• Follows 42 coding style (norminette)
• Implements efficient stack data structures
• Uses optimized sorting algorithms
• Handles edge cases and error conditions
• Memory-safe implementation

shmohamm - 42 Abu Dhabi