
Sorting Algorithm

This is a sorting algorithm.   It may be applied to a set of data in order to sort it.    
For comparing various sorts, see compare sorts.  
For other sorting algorithms,   see sorting algorithms,   or:

O(n logn) sorts
Heap sort |
Merge sort |
Patience sort |
Quick sort
O(n log2n) sorts
Shell Sort
O(n2) sorts
Bubble sort |
Cocktail sort |
Cocktail sort with shifting bounds |
Comb sort |
Cycle sort |
Gnome sort |
Insertion sort |
Selection sort |
Strand sort
other sorts
Bead sort |
Bogo sort |
Common sorted list |
Composite structures sort |
Custom comparator sort |
Counting sort |
Disjoint sublist sort |
External sort |
Jort sort |
Lexicographical sort |
Natural sorting |
Order by pair comparisons |
Order disjoint list items |
Order two numerical lists |
Object identifier (OID) sort |
Pancake sort |
Quickselect |
Permutation sort |
Radix sort |
Ranking methods |
Remove duplicate elements |
Sleep sort |
Stooge sort |
[Sort letters of a string] |
Three variable sort |
Topological sort |
Tree sort


In general, sleep sort works by starting a separate task for each item to be sorted, where each task sleeps for an interval corresponding to the item's sort key, then emits the item. Items are then collected sequentially in time.

Task: Write a program that implements sleep sort. Have it accept non-negative integers on the command line and print the integers in sorted order. If this is not idomatic in your language or environment, input and output may be done differently. Enhancements for optimization, generalization, practicality, robustness, and so on are not required.

Sleep sort was presented anonymously on 4chan and has been discussed on Hacker News.

object SleepSort {
 
  def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
    val nums = args.map(_.toInt)
    sort(nums)
    Thread.sleep(nums.max * 21) // Keep the JVM alive for the example
  }
 
  def sort(nums: Seq[Int]): Unit =
    nums.foreach(i => new Thread {
      override def run() {
        Thread.sleep(i * 20) // just `i` is unpredictable with small numbers
        print(s"$i ")
      }
    }.start())
 
}