Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms: Shell sort
Shell sort
a variation of the insertion sort algorithm (see insertion sort) invented by D. L. Shell.A Shell sort is a series of insertion sorts in which each item, instead of being compared with the items next to it, is compared with items a certain number of elements away. On each pass, this number (the skip count) becomes smaller until it reaches 1; thus, the last pass is an ordinary insertion sort. The earlier passes take care of large moves that would be time-consuming in a pure insertion sort. See the book's web page (www.termbook.com) to see a program that performs a Shell sort.
