rdst

rdst is a flexible native Rust implementation of multi-threaded unstable radix sort.

Usage

let mut my_vec = vec![4, 7, 1, 6, 5, 3, 2, 8, 9];

my_vec.radix_sort_unstable();

In the simplest case, you can use this sort by simply calling my_vec.radix_sort_unstable(). If you have a custom type to sort, you may need to implement RadixKey for that type.

Default Implementations

RadixKey is implemented for Vec and [T] of the following types out-of-the-box:

• u8, u16, u32, u64, u128, usize
• i8, i16, i32, i64, i128, isize
• f32, f64
• [u8; N]

Implementing RadixKey

To be able to sort custom types, implement RadixKey as below.

• LEVELS should be set to the total number of bytes you will consider for each item being sorted
• get_level should return the corresponding bytes from the least significant byte to the most significant byte

Notes:

• This allows you to implement radix keys that span multiple values, or to implement radix keys that only look at part of a value.
• You should try to make this as fast as possible, so consider using branchless implementations wherever possible

use rdst::RadixKey;

struct MyType(u32);

impl RadixKey for MyType {
    const LEVELS: usize = 4;

    #[inline]
    fn get_level(&self, level: usize) -> u8 {
        (self.0 >> (level * 8)) as u8
    }
}

Partial RadixKey

If you know your type has bytes that will always be zero, you can skip those bytes to speed up the sorting process. For instance, if you have a u32 where values never exceed 10000, you only need to consider two of the bytes. You could implement this as such:

use rdst::RadixKey;
struct U32Wrapper(u32);

impl RadixKey for U32Wrapper {
    const LEVELS: usize = 2;

    #[inline]
    fn get_level(&self, level: usize) -> u8 {
        (self.0 >> (level * 8)) as u8
    }
}

Multi-value RadixKey

If your type has multiple values you need to search by, simply create a RadixKey that spans both values.

use rdst::RadixKey;
struct MyStruct {
    key_1: u8,
    key_2: u8,
    key_3: u8,
}
impl RadixKey for MyStruct {
    const LEVELS: usize = 3;

    #[inline]
    fn get_level(&self, level: usize) -> u8 {
        match level {
          0 => self.key_1[0],
          1 => self.key_2[1],
          _ => self.key_3[0],
        }
    }
}

Low-memory Variant

use rdst::RadixSort;
let mut my_vec: Vec<usize> = vec![10, 15, 0, 22, 9];
my_vec
    .radix_sort_builder()
    .with_low_mem_tuner()
    .sort();

This library also includes a mostly in-place variant of radix sort. This is useful in cases where memory or memory bandwidth are more limited. Generally, this algorithm is slightly slower than the standard algorithm, however in specific circumstances this algorithm may even provide a speed boost. It is worth benchmarking against your use-case if you need the ultimate level of performance.

Single-threaded Variant

To make this library use an entirely single-threaded set of algorithms and processes, you can use the following snippet.

use rdst::RadixSort;
let mut my_vec: Vec<usize> = vec![10, 15, 0, 22, 9];

my_vec
    .radix_sort_builder()
    // Use a tuner that only includes single-threaded algorithms
    .with_single_threaded_tuner()
    // Don't run multiple algorithms (even single-threaded ones) in parallel
    .with_parallel(false)
    .sort();

NOTE: If you are ONLY using the single-threaded variant of this radix sort, you can disable the default "multi-threaded" feature on the rdst dependency to remove large sub-dependencies like Rayon.

[dependencies.rdst]
version = "x.y.z"
default-features = false

With the "multi-threaded" feature disabled, even the default my_data.radix_sort_unstable() will use a single-threaded tuner.

Custom Tuners

Tuners are things which you can implement to control which sorting algorithms are used. There are many radix sorting algorithms implemented as part of this crate, and they all have their pros and cons. If you have a very specific use-case it may be worth your time to tune the sort yourself.

use rdst::RadixSort;
use rdst::tuner::{Algorithm, Tuner, TuningParams};

struct MyTuner;

impl Tuner for MyTuner {
    fn pick_algorithm(&self, p: &TuningParams, _counts: &[usize]) -> Algorithm {
        if p.input_len >= 500_000 {
            Algorithm::Ska
        } else {
            Algorithm::Lsb
        }
    }
}

let mut my_vec: Vec<usize> = vec![10, 25, 9, 22, 6];
my_vec
    .radix_sort_builder()
    .with_tuner(&MyTuner {})
    .sort();

License

Licensed under either of

• Apache License, Version 2.0, (LICENSE-APACHE or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
• MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

at your option.

Contribution

Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in the work by you, as defined in the Apache-2.0 license, shall be dual licensed as above, without any additional terms or conditions.