ポストマンソートを使用する

ポストマンソート (postman's sort) は、キーを階層的な属性(文字・桁・地域コードなど)として扱い、最上位の属性から順にバケットへ配り、各バケットを次の属性で再帰的に仕分ける分布型の整列である。郵便区分機が郵便番号の上位桁/集配局/町域/配達順と段階的に手紙を振り分ける様子に例えられる。

トップダウン(最上位桁優先)の基数ソートの工学的変種とされ、要素同士を比較せずバケットへ配るため、キー幅とバケット数に依存する係数 c に対し時間は \(O(c \cdot n)\) と説明される。

  1. 属性(桁)の選択: 最上位の記号から処理する。部分列が十分小さければ挿入ソートなどで終える。
  2. バケットへの配布: 現在位置の記号 \(0,\ldots,\sigma-1\) ごとに補助リストへ要素を追加する(デモでは十進桁で \(\sigma = 10\))。
  3. 再帰: 要素が 2 個以上ある各バケットについて、次の記号位置で手順 1〜2 を繰り返す。
  4. 連結: 記号 0, 1, … の順にバケットを並べれば、全体が昇順になる。
procedure postman_sort(A, exp)
  if length(A) <= THRESHOLD then
    insertion_sort(A)
    return
  if exp = 0 then
    return
  buckets = empty list of σ arrays
  for each x in A
    append x to buckets[digit(x, exp)]
  out = empty list
  for d from 0 to σ - 1
    if length(buckets[d]) > 1 then
      postman_sort(buckets[d], next_exp(exp))
    append buckets[d] to out
  A = out

整数キーを usize として整列するときは、最上位バイトから下位バイトへと記号を取り、\(\sigma = 256\) として上記を適用するのが典型である(下の計測コードもこの方式)。デモは視認性のため十進の各桁を上位から同じ手順で示す。

記号幅を w、記号集合サイズを \(\sigma\) とすると時間はおおよそ \(O(w \cdot (n + \sigma))\)、補助空間はバケット分 \(O(n + \sigma)\) である。配布を入力順に行い同記号の相対順を保てば安定ソートになる。

郵便の住所のように属性が階層になっているデータや、可変長キーを上位から切りたい場面向きである。固定幅整数なら アメリカ国旗ソート のようなインプレースの最上位桁優先整列も選択肢になる。

以下のデモでは 2 桁の整数を十進の十の位・一の位の順に下のバケットへ配り、連結してから下位桁で再帰する。「シャッフル」で別の並びに差し替えられます。

類似アルゴリズムとの相違点

バケットソートは値域を一度だけ等分してから各バケットを別ソートする。

バーストソートは閾値を超えたときだけ下位桁へトライを伸ばす。

アメリカ国旗ソートは同じ最上位桁優先の多区分だが、補助リストではなくインプレースでバケット境界へ集める。

基数ソートは同じ桁バケットへの配布と回収を扱う。ポストマンは最上位桁優先の配布を郵便の仕分けに例える点と、小さな区間を挿入ソートで締める点が異なる。

時間計算量および空間計算量を計測する

Size Average time (s) Maximum time (s) Average memory (KiB) Maximum memory (KiB)
256 0.000027 0.000248 22 22
512 0.000039 0.000109 36 36
1024 0.000065 0.000143 64 64
2048 0.000109 0.000293 120 120
4096 0.000215 0.000416 232 232
8192 0.000346 0.000592 456 456
16384 0.000677 0.001058 904 904
32768 0.001366 0.002505 1800 1800
65536 0.002806 0.005080 3592 3592
131072 0.005827 0.008246 6664 6664
262144 0.011591 0.030558 12808 12808
計測に使用したコードを表示する

#!/usr/bin/env swift
import Foundation

// This standalone Swift driver creates the same temporary Docker build
// context as the former shell wrapper.  The benchmark program itself remains
// embedded below so readers can copy one complete, reproducible file.
struct BenchmarkError: Error, CustomStringConvertible {
    let message: String

    var description: String { message }

    init(_ message: String) {
        self.message = message
    }
}

func runCommand(_ executable: String, _ arguments: [String]) throws {
    let process = Process()
    process.executableURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: "/usr/bin/env")
    process.arguments = [executable] + arguments
    process.standardInput = FileHandle.standardInput
    process.standardOutput = FileHandle.standardOutput
    process.standardError = FileHandle.standardError

    do {
        try process.run()
    } catch {
        throw BenchmarkError("Could not start \(executable): \(error)")
    }
    process.waitUntilExit()
    guard process.terminationStatus == 0 else {
        throw BenchmarkError(
            "Command failed (\(process.terminationStatus)): " +
            "\(executable) \(arguments.joined(separator: " "))"
        )
    }
}

do {
    // The UUID avoids collisions when two benchmark copies are run at once.
    let workdir = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory
        .appendingPathComponent("swift-sort-benchmark-\(UUID().uuidString)")
    try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: workdir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
    defer { try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: workdir) }

    // A raw Swift string is used so the nested main.swift keeps its own
    // interpolation expressions such as \(seed) until Docker compiles it.
    let dockerfile = #"""
FROM swift:6.0

WORKDIR /app

RUN cat > alloc_track.c <<'ALLOC'
#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <dlfcn.h>
#include <malloc.h>
#include <stdatomic.h>
#include <stddef.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

static atomic_size_t live_bytes = 0;
static atomic_size_t peak_bytes = 0;

static void *(*real_malloc)(size_t) = NULL;
static void *(*real_calloc)(size_t, size_t) = NULL;
static void *(*real_realloc)(void *, size_t) = NULL;
static void (*real_free)(void *) = NULL;

static void init_reals(void) {
    if (real_malloc) {
        return;
    }
    real_malloc = (void *(*)(size_t))dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "malloc");
    real_calloc = (void *(*)(size_t, size_t))dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "calloc");
    real_realloc = (void *(*)(void *, size_t))dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "realloc");
    real_free = (void (*)(void *))dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "free");
}

static void record_alloc(size_t size) {
    size_t live = atomic_fetch_add(&live_bytes, size) + size;
    size_t peak = atomic_load(&peak_bytes);
    while (live > peak) {
        if (atomic_compare_exchange_weak(&peak_bytes, &peak, live)) {
            break;
        }
    }
}

void alloc_track_reset_peak(void) {
    atomic_store(&peak_bytes, atomic_load(&live_bytes));
}

size_t alloc_track_live(void) { return atomic_load(&live_bytes); }
size_t alloc_track_peak(void) { return atomic_load(&peak_bytes); }

void *malloc(size_t size) {
    init_reals();
    void *p = real_malloc(size);
    if (p) {
        record_alloc(malloc_usable_size(p));
    }
    return p;
}

void *calloc(size_t nmemb, size_t size) {
    init_reals();
    void *p = real_calloc(nmemb, size);
    if (p) {
        record_alloc(malloc_usable_size(p));
    }
    return p;
}

void *realloc(void *ptr, size_t size) {
    init_reals();
    size_t old_size = 0;
    if (ptr) {
        old_size = malloc_usable_size(ptr);
    }
    void *p = real_realloc(ptr, size);
    if (p) {
        atomic_fetch_sub(&live_bytes, old_size);
        record_alloc(malloc_usable_size(p));
    } else if (size == 0) {
        atomic_fetch_sub(&live_bytes, old_size);
    }
    return p;
}

void free(void *ptr) {
    init_reals();
    if (ptr) {
        atomic_fetch_sub(&live_bytes, malloc_usable_size(ptr));
        real_free(ptr);
    }
}

ALLOC

RUN cat > main.swift <<'SWIFT'
import Foundation
#if canImport(Glibc)
import Glibc
#elseif canImport(Darwin)
import Darwin
#endif

@_silgen_name("alloc_track_live") func alloc_track_live() -> Int
@_silgen_name("alloc_track_peak") func alloc_track_peak() -> Int
@_silgen_name("alloc_track_reset_peak") func alloc_track_reset_peak()

extension UnsafeMutableBufferPointer where Element == Int {
    func swapAt(_ i: Int, _ j: Int) {
        let t = self[i]; self[i] = self[j]; self[j] = t
    }
}

let MIN_POWER: Int = 8
let MAX_POWER: Int = 18
let RUNS: Int = 8192
func insertion_sort(_ a: inout [Int]) {
    a.withUnsafeMutableBufferPointer { insertion_sort($0) }
}

func insertion_sort(_ a: UnsafeMutableBufferPointer<Int>) {
    if a.count < 2 {
        return
    }
    for i in 1..<a.count {
        var j = i
        while j > 0 && a[j - 1] > a[j] {
            a.swapAt(j - 1, j)
            j -= 1
        }
    }
}



fileprivate func postman_sort_bytes(_ a: UnsafeMutableBufferPointer<Int>, _ byte: Int) {
    let W = 256
    let THRESHOLD = 16

    if a.count <= THRESHOLD {
        insertion_sort(a)
        return
    }
    if byte >= MemoryLayout<Int>.size {
        return
    }

    let shift = (MemoryLayout<Int>.size - 1 - byte) * 8
    var buckets = [[Int]](repeating: [], count: W)

    for i in 0..<a.count {
        let value = a[i]
        let digit = (value >> shift) & 0xFF
        buckets[digit].append(value)
    }

    var offset = 0
    for b in 0..<W {
        if buckets[b].count > 1 {
            buckets[b].withUnsafeMutableBufferPointer { postman_sort_bytes($0, byte + 1) }
        }
        let len = buckets[b].count
        if len > 0 {
            for i in 0..<len {
                a[offset + i] = buckets[b][i]
            }
            offset += len
        }
    }
}

func postman_sort(_ a: inout [Int]) {
    a.withUnsafeMutableBufferPointer { postman_sort($0) }
}

func postman_sort(_ a: UnsafeMutableBufferPointer<Int>) {
    if !a.isEmpty {
        postman_sort_bytes(a, 0)
    }
}


func benchmark_sort(_ array: inout [Int]) {

    postman_sort(&array)

}

func is_non_decreasing(_ a: [Int]) -> Bool {
    guard a.count >= 2 else { return true }
    for i in 1..<a.count {
        if a[i - 1] > a[i] { return false }
    }
    return true
}

func same_multiset(_ a: [Int], _ b: [Int]) -> Bool {
    if a.count != b.count {
        return false
    }

    var left = a
    var right = b
    left.sort()
    right.sort()
    return left == right
}

func check_correctness_case(_ label: String, _ input: [Int]) {
    var input = input
    let original = input

    benchmark_sort(&input)

    if !is_non_decreasing(input) {
        fatalError("correctness case \(label): output is not sorted")
    }

    if !same_multiset(input, original) {
        fatalError("correctness case \(label): elements were lost or added")
    }
}

// Skip cases larger than the algorithm's measured size cap (MAX_POWER). That
// cap exists because larger inputs are impractically slow; forcing them here
// would stall the published measurement script before any table rows print.
func check_correctness_case_within_limit(_ label: String, _ input: [Int]) {
    if input.count > (1 << MAX_POWER) {
        return
    }
    check_correctness_case(label, input)
}

func few_unique_values(_ size: Int, _ unique: Int, _ seed: UInt64) -> [Int] {
    var state = seed
    var result = [Int]()
    result.reserveCapacity(size)
    for _ in 0..<size {
        state ^= state << 13
        state ^= state >> 7
        state ^= state << 17
        result.append(Int(state % UInt64(unique)) + 1)
    }
    return result
}

func run_correctness_checks() {
    check_correctness_case("empty", [])
    check_correctness_case("single", [42])
    check_correctness_case("duplicates", [3, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2])
    check_correctness_case("sorted", [1, 2, 3, 4, 5])
    check_correctness_case("reverse", [5, 4, 3, 2, 1])
    check_correctness_case("all_equal", [7, 7, 7, 7])
    check_correctness_case("skewed_range", [1_000_000, 2, 1_000_001, 1, 999_999])
    // Static-buffer Grail skips the in-buffer build when key collection is sparse
    // (ideal_buffer = false). Exercising that path catches regressions in buffer gating.
    check_correctness_case(
        "few_keys_len16",
        [2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 4]
    )
    // Seed 0 is a fixed point of the xorshift below, so it would degenerate into
    // yet another all-equal case instead of a 4-value mix. Start at 1.
    for seed in 1...32 {
        check_correctness_case(
            "few_keys_len32_seed_\(seed)",
            few_unique_values(32, 4, UInt64(seed))
        )
    }
    // Small-input cutoffs (insertion sort below 32 elements, etc.) hide duplicate-key
    // bugs in the recursive path, so repeat the duplicate cases at the smallest
    // benchmark size, which every algorithm must handle within reasonable time.
    check_correctness_case("all_equal_len256", [Int](repeating: 7, count: 256))
    for seed in 1...4 {
        check_correctness_case(
            "few_keys_len256_seed_\(seed)",
            few_unique_values(256, 4, UInt64(seed))
        )
    }
    // Blit's equal-key second sweep used to copy the whole range into a fixed
    // 512-element swap; lengths above that must still sort without panicking.
    // Respect MAX_POWER so algorithms with a low measured-size cap (slow,
    // sleep) do not hang here for minutes or months.
    check_correctness_case_within_limit("all_equal_len600", [Int](repeating: 7, count: 600))
    for seed in 1...4 {
        check_correctness_case_within_limit(
            "few_keys_len2048_seed_\(seed)",
            few_unique_values(2048, 4, UInt64(seed))
        )
    }
}


func shuffled(_ size: Int, seed: UInt64) -> [Int] {
    guard size > 0 else { return [] }

    var v = Array(1...size)
    var state = seed

    if size > 1 {
        for i in stride(from: size - 1, through: 1, by: -1) {
            state ^= state << 13
            state ^= state >> 7
            state ^= state << 17

            let j = Int(state % UInt64(i + 1))
            v.swapAt(i, j)
        }
    }

    return v
}

func micros(_ d: Duration) -> UInt64 {
    let c = d.components
    let fromSeconds = UInt64(c.seconds) * 1_000_000
    let fromAttos = UInt64(max(0, c.attoseconds / 1_000_000_000_000))
    return fromSeconds + fromAttos
}

func padLeft(_ value: String, _ width: Int) -> String {
    if value.count >= width {
        return value
    }
    return String(repeating: " ", count: width - value.count) + value
}

func formatSeconds(_ micros: UInt64) -> String {
    let whole = micros / 1_000_000
    let frac = micros % 1_000_000
    let fracStr = padLeft(String(frac), 6).replacingOccurrences(of: " ", with: "0")
    return "\(whole).\(fracStr)"
}

func input_array(_ size: Int, seed: UInt64) -> [Int] {
    shuffled(size, seed: seed)
}

/// Peak heap growth during `benchmark_sort`, in bytes (explicit buffers such as swap).
/// Kept in bytes so the parent can average before rounding; converting to KiB here
/// would truncate sub-KiB buffers to 0 in every run and hide them from the average.
func run_once(size: Int, seed: Int) -> (UInt64, Int) {
    var array = input_array(size, seed: UInt64(seed))

    let baseBytes = alloc_track_live()
    alloc_track_reset_peak()

    let start = ContinuousClock.now

    benchmark_sort(&array)

    let elapsed = ContinuousClock.now - start
    let peakBytes = alloc_track_peak()
    let auxBytes = max(0, peakBytes - baseBytes)

    let expected: [Int] = size > 0 ? Array(1...size) : []
    if array != expected {
        fatalError("sort failed with seed \(seed) for size \(size)")
    }

    return (micros(elapsed), auxBytes)
}

func run_child(_ args: [String]) {
    let size = Int(args[2])!
    let seed = Int(args[3])!
    let (elapsedUs, mem) = run_once(size: size, seed: seed)
    print("\(elapsedUs) \(mem)")
}

let args = CommandLine.arguments
if args.count > 1 && args[1] == "--run-once" {
    run_child(args)
} else {
    run_correctness_checks()

    let tableHeader =
        "| \(padLeft("Size", 10)) | " +
        "\(padLeft("Average time (s)", 16)) | " +
        "\(padLeft("Maximum time (s)", 16)) | " +
        "\(padLeft("Average memory (KiB)", 20)) | " +
        "\(padLeft("Maximum memory (KiB)", 20)) |"
    print(tableHeader)
    print("|-----------:|-----------------:|-----------------:|---------------------:|---------------------:|")

    for power in MIN_POWER...MAX_POWER {
        let size = 1 << power

        var totalTime: UInt64 = 0
        var maxTime: UInt64 = 0

        var totalMem = 0
        var maxMem = 0

        for seed in 1...RUNS {
            let process = Process()
            process.executableURL = URL(fileURLWithPath: args[0])
            process.arguments = ["--run-once", "\(size)", "\(seed)"]
            let stdout = Pipe()
            let stderr = Pipe()
            process.standardOutput = stdout
            process.standardError = stderr

            do {
                try process.run()
            } catch {
                fatalError("failed to run benchmark child process: \(error)")
            }
            process.waitUntilExit()

            if process.terminationStatus != 0 {
                let err = String(data: stderr.fileHandleForReading.readDataToEndOfFile(), encoding: .utf8) ?? ""
                fatalError("benchmark child process failed: \(err)")
            }

            let data = stdout.fileHandleForReading.readDataToEndOfFile()
            let stdoutText = String(data: data, encoding: .utf8) ?? ""
            let fields = stdoutText.split(whereSeparator: \.isWhitespace)
            guard fields.count >= 2,
                  let elapsedUs = UInt64(fields[0]),
                  let auxMem = Int(fields[1]) else {
                fatalError("invalid child process output: \(stdoutText)")
            }

            totalTime += elapsedUs
            if elapsedUs > maxTime {
                maxTime = elapsedUs
            }

            totalMem += auxMem
            if auxMem > maxMem {
                maxMem = auxMem
            }
        }

        let avgTime = totalTime / UInt64(RUNS)
        // Memory is summed in bytes and converted to KiB once, after averaging.
        let avgMemKb = totalMem / RUNS / 1024
        let maxMemKb = maxMem / 1024

        let tableRow =
            "| \(padLeft(String(size), 10)) | " +
            "\(padLeft(formatSeconds(avgTime), 16)) | " +
            "\(padLeft(formatSeconds(maxTime), 16)) | " +
            "\(padLeft(String(avgMemKb), 20)) | " +
            "\(padLeft(String(maxMemKb), 20)) |"
        print(tableRow)
    }
}
SWIFT

RUN clang -O2 -fPIC -shared alloc_track.c -o liballoc_track.so -ldl

RUN swiftc -Ounchecked -whole-module-optimization \
    main.swift \
    -o swift-benchmark \
    -L. -lalloc_track \
    -Xlinker -rpath -Xlinker /app

ENV LD_PRELOAD=/app/liballoc_track.so
CMD ["./swift-benchmark"]
"""#
    try dockerfile.write(
        to: workdir.appendingPathComponent("Dockerfile"),
        atomically: true,
        encoding: .utf8
    )

    // Keeping build and run as separate child processes preserves Docker's
    // normal output and the original image tag used by the benchmark skill.
    try runCommand("docker", ["build", "-t", "swift-benchmark", workdir.path])
    try runCommand("docker", ["run", "--rm", "--init", "swift-benchmark"])
} catch {
    fputs("\(error)\n", stderr)
    exit(1)
}