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'''Sorting''' refers to various ways of arranging or ordering things.
==Sorting information or data==
One important kind of sorting is arranging things in sequence according to some pre-defined ordering, e.g. when one sorts the books in a library alphabetically by title, subject or author. The problem of how change the order of lists according to given criteria is simply called '''sorting''' in [[computer science]]. It is one of extensively researched subjects in it; see [[sort algorithm]].▼
▲One important kind of sorting is arranging
The main purpose of sorting information is to optimise its usefulness for specific tasks. In general, there are two ways of sorting information: '''by category''' e.g. a shopping catalogue where items are grouped together under headings such as 'home', 'sport & leisure', 'women's clothes' etc. and '''in a hierarchy''' according to some property e.g. from cheapest to most expensive. Richard Saul Wurman, in his book '''Information Anxiety''', proposes '''Alphabetical''', by '''Location''' and by '''Time''' as being the most common sorting methods (these are actually special cases of category (___location, alphabetical) and hierarchy (time). Together these give the acronym LATCH (Location, Alphabetical, Time, Category, Hierarchy) and can be used to describe just about every type of ordered information.
==Physical sorting processes==
Various sorting tasks are essential in industrial processes. For example, during the extraction of [[gold]] from ore, a device called a [[shaker table]] uses [[gravity]], [[vibration]], and [[flow]] to separate gold from lighter materials in the ore. Sorting is also a naturally occurring process that results in the concentration of [[ore]]. Sorting results from the application of some criterion or differential stressor to a mass to separate it into its components based on some variable quality. Materials that are different, but only slightly so, such as the isotopes of uranium, are very difficult to separate.
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