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# std::partial_sort_copy

From cppreference.com
< cpp‎ | algorithm

Defined in header `<algorithm>` |  |
template< class InputIt, class RandomIt > RandomIt partial_sort_copy( InputIt first, InputIt last, RandomIt d_first, RandomIt d_last ); | (1) |
template< class InputIt, class RandomIt, class Compare > RandomIt partial_sort_copy( InputIt first, InputIt last, RandomIt d_first, RandomIt d_last, Compare comp ); | (2) |

Sorts some of the elements in the range `[first, last)` in ascending order, storing the result in the range `[d_first, d_last)`.

At most d_last - d_first of the elements are moved to the range `[d_first, d_first + n)` and then sorted. `n` is the number of elements to sort (n = min(last - first, d_last - d_first)). The order of equal elements is not guaranteed to be preserved. The first version uses operator< to compare the elements, the second version uses the given comparison function `comp`.

### [edit] Parameters

first, last | - | the range of elements to sort
d_first, d_last | - | random access iterators defining the destination range
comp | - | comparison function object (i.e. an object that satisfies the requirements of `Compare`) which returns ​true if the first argument is less than (i.e. is ordered before) the second. The signature of the comparison function should be equivalent to the following: bool cmp(const Type1 &a, const Type2 &b); The signature does not need to have const &, but the function object must not modify the objects passed to it. The types Type1 and Type2 must be such that an object of type RandomIt can be dereferenced and then implicitly converted to both of them. ​
Type requirements
- `InputIt` must meet the requirements of `InputIterator`.
- `RandomIt` must meet the requirements of `ValueSwappable` and `RandomAccessIterator`.
- The type of dereferenced `RandomIt` must meet the requirements of `MoveAssignable` and `MoveConstructible`.

### [edit] Return value

an iterator to the element defining the upper boundary of the sorted range, i.e. d_first + min(last - first, d_last - d_first).

### [edit] Complexity

O(N·log(min(D,N)), where N = std::distance(first, last), D = std::distance(d_first, d_last) applications of `cmp`.

### [edit] Example

The following code sorts an vector of integers and copies them into a smaller and a larger vector.

Run this code

    #include <algorithm>
    #include <vector>
    #include <functional>
    #include <iostream>

    int main()
    {
        std::vector<int> v0{4, 2, 5, 1, 3};
        std::vector<int> v1{10, 11, 12};
        std::vector<int> v2{10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16};
        std::vector<int>::iterator it;

        it = std::partial_sort_copy(v0.begin(), v0.end(), v1.begin(), v1.end());

        std::cout << "Writing to the smaller vector in ascending order gives: ";
        for (int a : v1) {
            std::cout << a << " ";
        }
        std::cout << '\n';
        if(it == v1.end())
            std::cout << "The return value is the end iterator\n";

        it = std::partial_sort_copy(v0.begin(), v0.end(), v2.begin(), v2.end(),
                                    std::greater<int>());

        std::cout << "Writing to the larger vector in descending order gives: ";
        for (int a : v2) {
            std::cout << a << " ";
        }
        std::cout << '\n' << "The return value is the iterator to " << *it << '\n';
    }

Output:

    Writing to the smaller vector in ascending order gives: 1 2 3
    The return value is the end iterator
    Writing to the larger vector in descending order gives: 5 4 3 2 1 15 16
    The return value is the iterator to 15

### [edit] See also

partial_sort | sorts the first N elements of a range (function template) [edit]
sort | sorts a range into ascending order (function template) [edit]
stable_sort | sorts a range of elements while preserving order between equal elements (function template) [edit]

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