Selection sort

Selection sort is a simple comparison-based sorting algorithm. It works by repeatedly selecting the smallest (or largest) element from the unsorted portion of the list and swapping it with the first unsorted element. This process continues until the entire list is sorted.

Steps

1. Find the smallest element in the unsorted part of the list.
2. Swap it with the first unsorted element.
3. Move to the next unsorted element and repeat the process until all elements are sorted.

Selection sort has a time complexity of O(n²), making it less efficient for large lists, but it's easy to understand and implement.

Implementation

function selectionSort(arr) {
  const n = arr.length;

  // Loop through the entire array
  for (let i = 0; i < n - 1; i++) {
    // Assume the minimum is the first element of the unsorted part
    let minIndex = i;

    // Find the index of the minimum element in the unsorted part
    for (let j = i + 1; j < n; j++) {
      if (arr[j] < arr[minIndex]) {
        minIndex = j;
      }
    }

    // Swap the found minimum element with the first element of the unsorted part
    if (minIndex !== i) {
      [arr[i], arr[minIndex]] = [arr[minIndex], arr[i]];
    }
  }

  return arr;
}