The solution to this problem is not very intuitive to unless you are already somewhat familiar with computer science or real math wiz, but it all comes down to the number of inversions and the resulting cycles
If you are new to computer science I recommend the following resources to supplement this solution:
If we define an inversion as:
arr[i]>arr[j]
where i is the current index and j is the following index --
then if there are no inversions the array is already in order and requires no sorting.
For Example:
[1,2,3,4,5]
So the number of swaps is related to the number of inversions, but not directly because each inversion can lead to a series of swaps (as opposed to a singular swap EX: [3,1,2]).
So if one consider's the following array:
[4,5,2,1,3,6,10,9,7,8]
This array is composed of three cycles.
Cycle One- 4,1,3 (Two Swaps)
Cycle Two- 5,2 (One Swap)
Cycle Three- 6 (0 Swaps)
Cycle Four- 10,9,7,8 (3 Swaps)
Now here's where the CS and Math magic really kicks in: each cycle will only require one pass through to properly sort it, and this is always going to be true.
So another way to say this would be-- the minimum number of swaps to sort any cycle is the number of element in that cycle minus one, or more explicitly:
minimum swaps = (cycle length - 1)
So if we sum the minimum swaps from each cycle, that sum will equal the minimum number of swaps for the original array.
Here is my attempt to explain WHY this algorithm works:
If we consider that any sequential set of numbers is just a section of a number line, then any set starting at zero should be equal to its own index should the set be expressed as a Javascript array. This idea becomes the criteria to programmatically determined if in element is already in the correct position based on its own value.
If the current value is not equal to its own index then the program should detect a cycle start and recording its length. Once the while loop reaches the the original value in the cycle it will add the minimum number of swaps in the cycle to a counter variable.
Anyway here is my code-- it is very verbose but should work:
export const minimumSwaps = (arr) => {
//This function returns the lowest value
//from the provided array.
//If one subtracts this value the from
//any value in the array it should equal
//that value's index.
const shift = (function findLowest(arr){
let lowest=arr[0];
arr.forEach((val,i)=>{
if(val<lowest){
lowest=val;
}
})
return lowest;
})(arr);
//Declare a counter variable
//to keep track of the swaps.
let swaps = 0;
//This function returns an array equal
//in size to the original array provided.
//However, this array is composed of
//boolean values with a value of false.
const visited = (function boolArray(n){
const arr=[];
for(let i = 0; i<n;i++){
arr.push(false);
}
return arr;
})(arr.length);
//Iterate through each element of the
//of the provided array.
arr.forEach((val, i) => {
//If the current value being assessed minus
//the lowest value in the original array
//is not equal to the current loop index,
//or, if the corresponding index in
//the visited array is equal to true,
//then the value is already sorted
if (val - shift === i || visited[i]) return;
//Declare a counter variable to record
//cycle length.
let cycleLength = 0;
//Declare a variable for to use for the
//while loop below, one should start with
//the current loop index
let x = i;
//While the corresponding value in the
//corresponding index in the visited array
//is equal to false, then we
while (!visited[x]) {
//Set the value of the current
//corresponding index to true
visited[x] = true;
//Reset the x iteration variable to
//the next potential value in the cycle
x = arr[x] - shift;
//Add one to the cycle length variable
cycleLength++;
};
//Add the minimum number of swaps to
//the swaps counter variable, which
//is equal to the cycle length minus one
swaps += cycleLength - 1;
});
return swaps
}
