Insertion Sort in C

Algorithms: Sorting November 15, 2026 C

Insertion sort grows a sorted prefix by inserting the next value into its proper position.

c
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#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <errno.h>
// Insertion Sort in C
//
// PURPOSE
// Insertion sort grows a sorted prefix by inserting the next value into its proper position.
// It works well for small or nearly sorted arrays.
//
// METHOD
// Save the next key, shift larger prefix values to the right, then place the key in the gap.
// Using a strict comparison preserves the relative order of equal values.
//
// COMPLEXITY
// O(n squared) worst-case time, O(n) best-case time, O(1) auxiliary space. Stable.
//
// CONTRACT
// Sorts n elements ascending in place; returns 0.
// Public APIs infer array lengths except in C, which accepts pointer/length pairs. Vertex
// counts and matrix dimensions remain explicit. Arrays must contain signed 32-bit integers.
// Sorted order, correct tree topology, and caller-owned data-structure invariants are
// preconditions; checking them on every query would change query complexity.
// Scalar and shape checks are included. Value-range checks are included where needed to
// prevent invalid indexing or nontermination. Allocation sizes are capped at 4,000,000
// workspace entries. Arithmetic outside Python raises an error on 32-bit overflow; Python
// uses arbitrary precision. Native allocation failures propagate. In-place outputs may be
// partly updated after arithmetic failure. These are single-threaded, in-memory
// implementations.
//
// LANGUAGE DETAILS
// C99: checked calloc/free workspace, const input pointers, explicit size_t lengths. Errors
// return INT_MIN with errno=EINVAL, ERANGE, or ENOMEM. Check errno before using a result.
// Input/output arrays must not alias. No variable-length stack arrays.
//
// EXAMPLE
// Expected return: 0.
// Expected a after call: [1, 1, 3, 5].
// Run: gcc -std=c99 -O2 example.c -o example && ./example
// Tests for this exact source artifact run before publication. The accompanying source
// archive includes unit cases, runtime results, and source hashes.

static int alg_min(int a, int b) { return a < b ? a : b; }
static int alg_max(int a, int b) { return a > b ? a : b; }
static int alg_checked(int64_t v, int *error) {
    if (v < INT_MIN || v > INT_MAX) { *error = 1; return 0; }
    return (int)v;
}
static int alg_add(int a, int b, int *e) { return alg_checked((int64_t)a+b,e); }
static int alg_sub(int a, int b, int *e) { return alg_checked((int64_t)a-b,e); }
static int alg_mul(int a, int b, int *e) { return alg_checked((int64_t)a*b,e); }

int insertion_sort(int *a, size_t a_length) {
    int alg_error = 0;
    int alg_result = INT_MIN;
    errno = 0;
    if (a_length > 1000000 || (a_length && !a)) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int n = (int)a_length;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((n >= 0) && (n <= 1000000)))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (!(((int)a_length == n))) { errno = EINVAL; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int i = 1;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int j = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    int key = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    while (1) {
        int alg_condition = (i < n);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        if (!alg_condition) break;
        key = a[i];
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        j = alg_sub(i, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        while (1) {
            int alg_condition = ((j >= 0) && (a[j] > key));
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            if (!alg_condition) break;
            a[alg_add(j, 1, &alg_error)] = a[j];
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
            j = alg_sub(j, 1, &alg_error);
            if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        }
        a[alg_add(j, 1, &alg_error)] = key;
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
        i = alg_add(i, 1, &alg_error);
        if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    }
    alg_result = 0;
    if (alg_error) { errno = ERANGE; alg_result = INT_MIN; goto alg_cleanup; }
    goto alg_cleanup;
alg_cleanup:
    return alg_result;
}

int main(void) {
    int a[] = {5, 1, 3, 1};
    int result = insertion_sort(a, 4);
    printf("%d\n", result);
    for (int z = 0; z < 4; z++) printf("%d ", a[z]);
    printf("\n");
    // Expected a: [1, 1, 3, 5]
    if (errno) { perror("algorithm"); return 1; }
    return 0;
}