A New Sorting Algorithm for Accelerating Join-Based Queries

The performance of several Database Management Systems (DBMSs) and Data Stream Management Systems (DSMSs) queries is dominated by the cost of the sorting algorithm. Sorting is an integral component of most database management systems. Stable sorting algorithms play an important role in DBMS queries since such operations requires stable sorting outputs. In this paper, we present a new stable sorting algorithm for internal sorting that scans an unsorted input array of length n and arranges it into m sorted sub-arrays. By using the m-way merge algorithm, the sorted m subarrays will be merged into the final output sorted array. The proposed algorithm keeps the stability of the keys intact. The scanning process requires linear time complexity (O(n)) in the best case, and O(n log m) in the worst case, and the m-way merge process requires O (n log m) time complexity. The proposed algorithm has a time complexity of O (n log m) element comparisons. The performed experimental results have shown that the proposed algorithm outperforms other stable sorting algorithms that are designed for join-based queries.