xref: /original-bsd/lib/libc/stdlib/qsort.3 (revision 6570ed16)
Copyright (c) 1990 The Regents of the University of California.
All rights reserved.

%sccs.include.redist.man%

@(#)qsort.3 6.3 (Berkeley) 05/16/90

QSORT 3 ""
C 4
NAME
qsort - quicker sort
SYNOPSIS
#include <stdlib.h>

void
qsort(void *base, size_t nmemb, size_t size,
int (*compar)(const void *, const void *));
DESCRIPTION
Qsort is an implementation of C.A.R. Hoare's ``quicksort'' algorithm.

The qsort function sorts an array of nmemb objects, the initial member of which is pointed to by base . The size of each object is specified by size .

The contents of the array are sorted in ascending order according to a comparison function pointed to by compar , which is called with two arguments that point to the objects being compared.

The comparison function must return an integer less than, equal to, or greater than zero if the first argument is considered to be respectively less than, equal to, or greater than the second.

If two members compare as equal, their order in the sorted array is undefined.

"SEE ALSO"
sort(1)
STANDARDS
Qsort conforms to ANSI X3.159-1989 (``ANSI C'').
BUGS
The comparison routine may not itself call qsort (3).