Definition

Selection sort is a sorting algorithm that repeatedly finds the smallest value in the array and swaps it with the value at the beginning.

Key Characteristics

• ✓Each round "selects" the minimum value from remaining array - origin of the name
• ✓Few swaps - maximum n-1 swaps (beneficial when memory writes are expensive)
• ✓Unstable sort - relative order of equal elements may change
• ✓Always O(n²) regardless of input - performs all comparisons even for sorted arrays

Time Complexity