From 08991c9b6dddd428cc0d7e31f20820298f1458f9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: 0xDevNinja <nikhoriariteish@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 12 May 2026 16:00:00 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] feat(sorting): add inversion count via merge sort

---
 src/sorting/inversion_count.rs | 158 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 src/sorting/mod.rs             |   2 +
 2 files changed, 160 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 src/sorting/inversion_count.rs

diff --git a/src/sorting/inversion_count.rs b/src/sorting/inversion_count.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..420ee16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sorting/inversion_count.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+//! Inversion count via merge sort.
+//!
+//! An inversion is a pair of indices `(i, j)` with `i < j` and `arr[i] > arr[j]`.
+//! Counting them naively is `O(n^2)`; piggy-backing the count onto a merge sort
+//! brings it down to `O(n log n)` time with `O(n)` auxiliary space.
+//!
+//! Key insight: during the merge step, when we pick an element from the right
+//! half because it is strictly smaller than the current left-half element,
+//! every remaining element in the left half forms an inversion with it. So we
+//! add `left.len() - left_idx` to the running counter.
+//!
+//! Equal elements are not counted as inversions.
+//!
+//! Complexity: `O(n log n)` time, `O(n)` extra space.
+//! Returns `u64` so counts up to `n*(n-1)/2` fit comfortably for `n` up to a
+//! few billion.
+
+/// Counts the number of inversions in `arr` — pairs `(i, j)` with `i < j` and
+/// `arr[i] > arr[j]`.
+///
+/// Runs a non-mutating merge sort over a cloned working buffer and tallies
+/// inversions during each merge.
+pub fn inversion_count<T: Ord + Clone>(arr: &[T]) -> u64 {
+    if arr.len() < 2 {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    let mut buf: Vec<T> = arr.to_vec();
+    let mut scratch: Vec<T> = arr.to_vec();
+    sort_count(&mut buf, &mut scratch)
+}
+
+fn sort_count<T: Ord + Clone>(slice: &mut [T], scratch: &mut [T]) -> u64 {
+    let n = slice.len();
+    if n < 2 {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    let mid = n / 2;
+    let (left, right) = slice.split_at_mut(mid);
+    let (sl, sr) = scratch.split_at_mut(mid);
+    let mut count = sort_count(left, sl);
+    count += sort_count(right, sr);
+    count += merge_count(left, right, scratch);
+    slice.clone_from_slice(&scratch[..n]);
+    count
+}
+
+fn merge_count<T: Ord + Clone>(left: &[T], right: &[T], out: &mut [T]) -> u64 {
+    let (mut i, mut j, mut k) = (0, 0, 0);
+    let mut inv: u64 = 0;
+    while i < left.len() && j < right.len() {
+        if left[i] <= right[j] {
+            out[k] = left[i].clone();
+            i += 1;
+        } else {
+            out[k] = right[j].clone();
+            // every remaining element in `left` is greater than `right[j]`.
+            inv += (left.len() - i) as u64;
+            j += 1;
+        }
+        k += 1;
+    }
+    while i < left.len() {
+        out[k] = left[i].clone();
+        i += 1;
+        k += 1;
+    }
+    while j < right.len() {
+        out[k] = right[j].clone();
+        j += 1;
+        k += 1;
+    }
+    inv
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::inversion_count;
+
+    fn brute_force<T: Ord>(arr: &[T]) -> u64 {
+        let mut count: u64 = 0;
+        for i in 0..arr.len() {
+            for j in (i + 1)..arr.len() {
+                if arr[i] > arr[j] {
+                    count += 1;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        count
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn empty() {
+        let a: Vec<i32> = vec![];
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&a), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn single() {
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&[42]), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn sorted() {
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn reverse_sorted() {
+        for n in 0..=10usize {
+            let v: Vec<i32> = (0..n as i32).rev().collect();
+            let expected = (n as u64) * (n.saturating_sub(1) as u64) / 2;
+            assert_eq!(inversion_count(&v), expected);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn small_known() {
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&[2, 4, 1, 3, 5]), 3);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn duplicates_only() {
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&[1, 1, 1]), 0);
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&[7, 7, 7, 7, 7]), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn duplicates_mixed() {
+        // (3,1),(3,2),(3,2) -> 3 inversions
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&[3, 1, 2, 2]), 3);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn strings() {
+        let v = vec!["pear", "apple", "banana"];
+        assert_eq!(inversion_count(&v), 2);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn matches_brute_force_small() {
+        // Deterministic LCG for reproducibility — no rand dependency.
+        let mut state: u64 = 0x9E37_79B9_7F4A_7C15;
+        for _ in 0..40 {
+            state = state
+                .wrapping_mul(6_364_136_223_846_793_005)
+                .wrapping_add(1);
+            let len = ((state >> 32) as usize) % 12;
+            let mut v: Vec<i32> = Vec::with_capacity(len);
+            for _ in 0..len {
+                state = state
+                    .wrapping_mul(6_364_136_223_846_793_005)
+                    .wrapping_add(1);
+                v.push(((state >> 40) as i32) % 7);
+            }
+            assert_eq!(inversion_count(&v), brute_force(&v), "mismatch on {v:?}");
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/sorting/mod.rs b/src/sorting/mod.rs
index baf2c4c..9a2ae82 100644
--- a/src/sorting/mod.rs
+++ b/src/sorting/mod.rs
@@ -44,3 +44,5 @@ pub mod bit_vector_sort;
 pub mod fisher_yates_shuffle;
 
 pub mod rotate_matrix;
+
+pub mod inversion_count;