Sort array after converting elements to their squares

Difficulty Level : Easy
Last Updated : 28 Jun, 2021

Given an array of both positive and negative integers ‘arr[]’ which are sorted. The task is to sort the square of the numbers of the Array.
Examples:

Input  : arr[] =  {-6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5}
Output : 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36 

Input  : arr[] = {-5, -4, -2, 0, 1}
Output : 0, 1, 4, 16, 25

Simple solution is to first convert each array element into its square and then apply any “O(nlogn)” sorting algorithm to sort the array elements.

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Below is the implementation of the above idea

C++

// C++ program to Sort square of the numbers
// of the array
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function to sort an square array
void sortSquares(int arr[], int n)
{
    // First convert each array elements
    // into its square
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = arr[i] * arr[i];
 
    // Sort an array using "sort STL function "
    sort(arr, arr + n);
}
 
// Driver program to test above function
int main()
{
    int arr[] = { -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 };
    int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
 
    cout << "Before sort " << endl;
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
    sortSquares(arr, n);
 
    cout << "\nAfter Sort " << endl;
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
 
    return 0;
}

Java

// Java program to Sort square of the numbers
// of the array
import java.util.*;
import java.io.*;
 
class GFG {
    // Function to sort an square array
    public static void sortSquares(int arr[])
    {
        int n = arr.length;
 
        // First convert each array elements
        // into its square
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            arr[i] = arr[i] * arr[i];
 
        // Sort an array using "inbuild sort function"
        // in Arrays class.
        Arrays.sort(arr);
    }
 
    // Driver program to test above function
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int arr[] = { -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 };
        int n = arr.length;
 
        System.out.println("Before sort ");
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
 
        sortSquares(arr);
        System.out.println("");
        System.out.println("After Sort ");
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
    }
}

Python3

# Python program to Sort square
# of the numbers of the array
 
# Function to sort an square array
def sortSquare(arr, n):
 
    # First convert each array
    # elements into its square
    for i in range(n):
        arr[i]= arr[i] * arr[i]
    arr.sort()
 
# Driver code
arr = [-6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5]
n = len(arr)
 
print("Before sort")
for i in range(n):
    print(arr[i], end = " ")
 
print("\n")
 
sortSquare(arr, n)
 
print("After sort")
for i in range(n):
    print(arr[i], end = " ")
 
# This code is contributed by
# Shrikant13

C#

// C# program to Sort square
// of the numbers of the array
using System;
 
class GFG {
 
    // Function to sort
    // an square array
    public static void sortSquares(int[] arr)
    {
        int n = arr.Length;
 
        // First convert each array
        // elements into its square
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            arr[i] = arr[i] * arr[i];
 
        // Sort an array using
        // "inbuild sort function"
        // in Arrays class.
        Array.Sort(arr);
    }
 
    // Driver Code
    public static void Main()
    {
        int[] arr = { -6, -3, -1,
                      2, 4, 5 };
        int n = arr.Length;
 
        Console.WriteLine("Before sort ");
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");
 
        sortSquares(arr);
        Console.WriteLine("");
        Console.WriteLine("After Sort ");
 
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by anuj_67.

Javascript

<script>
 
// JavaScript program for the above approach
 
    // Function to sort an square array
    function sortSquares(arr)
    {
        let n = arr.length;
 
        // First convert each array elements
        // into its square
        for (let i = 0; i < n; i++)
            arr[i] = arr[i] * arr[i];
 
        // Sort an array using "inbuild sort function"
        // in Arrays class.
        arr.sort();
    }
 
// Driver Code
    let arr = [ -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 ];
    let n = arr.length;
 
    document.write("Before sort " + "<br/>");
    for (let i = 0; i < n; i++)
        document.write(arr[i] + " ");
 
    sortSquares(arr);
    document.write("" + "<br/>");
    document.write("After Sort " + "<br/>");
    for (let i = 0; i < n; i++)
        document.write(arr[i] + " ");
 
// This code is contributed by chinmoy1997pal.
</script>

Output:

Before sort 
-6 -3 -1 2 4 5 
After Sort 
1 4 9 16 25 36

Time complexity: O(n log n)

Efficient solution is based on the fact that the given array is already sorted. We do the following two steps.

Divide the array into two-part “Negative and positive “.
Use merge function to merge two sorted arrays into a single sorted array.

Below is the implementation of the above idea.

C++

// C++ program to Sort square of the numbers of the array
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// function to sort array after doing squares of elements
void sortSquares(int arr[], int n)
{
    // first dived array into part negative and positive
    int K = 0;
    for (K = 0; K < n; K++)
        if (arr[K] >= 0)
            break;
 
    // Now do the same process that we learn
    // in merge sort to merge to two sorted array
    // here both two half are sorted and we traverse
    // first half in reverse meaner because
    // first half contain negative element
    int i = K - 1; // Initial index of first half
    int j = K; // Initial index of second half
    int ind = 0; // Initial index of temp array
 
    // store sorted array
    int temp[n];
    while (i >= 0 && j < n) {
        if (arr[i] * arr[i] < arr[j] * arr[j]) {
            temp[ind] = arr[i] * arr[i];
            i--;
        }
        else {
            temp[ind] = arr[j] * arr[j];
            j++;
        }
        ind++;
    }
 
    /* Copy the remaining elements of first half */
    while (i >= 0) {
        temp[ind] = arr[i] * arr[i];
        i--;
        ind++;
    }
 
    /* Copy the remaining elements of second half */
    while (j < n) {
        temp[ind] = arr[j] * arr[j];
        j++;
        ind++;
    }
 
    // copy 'temp' array into original array
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = temp[i];
}
 
// Driver program to test above function
int main()
{
    int arr[] = { -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 };
    int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
 
    cout << "Before sort " << endl;
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
    sortSquares(arr, n);
 
    cout << "\nAfter Sort " << endl;
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
 
    return 0;
}

Java

// Java program to Sort square of the numbers
// of the array
import java.util.*;
import java.io.*;
 
class GFG {
    // Function to sort an square array
    public static void sortSquares(int arr[])
    {
        int n = arr.length;
        // first dived array into part negative and positive
        int k;
        for (k = 0; k < n; k++) {
            if (arr[k] >= 0)
                break;
        }
 
        // Now do the same process that we learn
        // in merge sort to merge to two sorted array
        // here both two half are sorted and we traverse
        // first half in reverse meaner because
        // first half contain negative element
        int i = k - 1; // Initial index of first half
        int j = k; // Initial index of second half
        int ind = 0; // Initial index of temp array
 
        int[] temp = new int[n];
        while (i >= 0 && j < n) {
            if (arr[i] * arr[i] < arr[j] * arr[j]) {
                temp[ind] = arr[i] * arr[i];
                i--;
            }
            else {
 
                temp[ind] = arr[j] * arr[j];
                j++;
            }
            ind++;
        }
 
        while (i >= 0) {
            temp[ind++] = arr[i] * arr[i];
            i--;
        }
        while (j < n) {
            temp[ind++] = arr[j] * arr[j];
            j++;
        }
 
        // copy 'temp' array into original array
        for (int x = 0; x < n; x++)
            arr[x] = temp[x];
    }
 
    // Driver program to test above function
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int arr[] = { -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 };
        int n = arr.length;
 
        System.out.println("Before sort ");
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
 
        sortSquares(arr);
        System.out.println("");
        System.out.println("After Sort ");
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
    }
}

Python3

# Python3 program to Sort square of the numbers of the array
 
# function to sort array after doing squares of elements
def sortSquares(arr, n):
     
    # first dived array into part negative and positive
    K = 0
    for K in range(n):
        if (arr[K] >= 0 ):
            break
     
    # Now do the same process that we learn
    # in merge sort to merge to two sorted array
    # here both two half are sorted and we traverse
    # first half in reverse meaner because
    # first half contain negative element
    i = K - 1 # Initial index of first half
    j = K # Initial index of second half
    ind = 0 # Initial index of temp array
     
    # store sorted array
    temp = [0]*n
    while (i >= 0 and j < n):
         
        if (arr[i] * arr[i] < arr[j] * arr[j]):
            temp[ind] = arr[i] * arr[i]
            i -= 1
         
        else:
             
            temp[ind] = arr[j] * arr[j]
            j += 1
             
        ind += 1
     
    ''' Copy the remaining elements of first half '''
    while (i >= 0):
         
        temp[ind] = arr[i] * arr[i]
        i -= 1
        ind += 1
         
    ''' Copy the remaining elements of second half '''
    while (j < n):
        temp[ind] = arr[j] * arr[j]
        j += 1
        ind += 1
         
    # copy 'temp' array into original array
    for i in range(n):
        arr[i] = temp[i]
 
# Driver code
arr = [-6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 ]
n = len(arr)
 
print("Before sort ")
for i in range(n):
    print(arr[i], end =" " )
     
sortSquares(arr, n)
print("\nAfter Sort ")
for i in range(n):
    print(arr[i], end =" " )
 
# This code is contributed by shubhamsingh10

C#

// C# program to Sort square of the numbers
// of the array
using System;
 
class GFG {
 
    // Function to sort an square array
    public static void sortSquares(int[] arr)
    {
        int n = arr.Length;
 
        // first dived array into part negative and positive
        int k;
        for (k = 0; k < n; k++) {
            if (arr[k] >= 0)
                break;
        }
 
        // Now do the same process that we learn
        // in merge sort to merge to two sorted array
        // here both two half are sorted and we traverse
        // first half in reverse meaner because
        // first half contain negative element
        int i = k - 1; // Initial index of first half
        int j = k; // Initial index of second half
        int ind = 0; // Initial index of temp array
 
        int[] temp = new int[n];
        while (i >= 0 && j < n) {
            if (arr[i] * arr[i] < arr[j] * arr[j]) {
                temp[ind] = arr[i] * arr[i];
                i--;
            }
            else {
                temp[ind] = arr[j] * arr[j];
                j++;
            }
            ind++;
        }
 
        while (i >= 0) {
            temp[ind++] = arr[i] * arr[i];
            i--;
        }
        while (j < n) {
            temp[ind++] = arr[j] * arr[j];
            j++;
        }
 
        // copy 'temp' array into original array
        for (int x = 0; x < n; x++)
            arr[x] = temp[x];
    }
 
    // Driver code
    public static void Main(String[] args)
    {
        int[] arr = { -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 };
        int n = arr.Length;
 
        Console.WriteLine("Before sort ");
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");
 
        sortSquares(arr);
        Console.WriteLine("");
        Console.WriteLine("After Sort ");
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
            Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");
    }
}
 
// This code is contributed by 29AjayKumar

Javascript

<script>
 
// Javascript program to Sort
// square of the numbers
// of the array
     
    // Function to sort an square array
    function sortSquares(arr)
    {
        let n = arr.length;
        // first dived array into part
        // negative and positive
        let k;
        for (k = 0; k < n; k++) {
            if (arr[k] >= 0)
                break;
        }
  
        // Now do the same process that we learn
        // in merge sort to merge to two sorted array
        // here both two half are sorted and we traverse
        // first half in reverse meaner because
        // first half contain negative element
         
         
        let i = k - 1; // Initial index of first half
        let j = k; // Initial index of second half
        let ind = 0; // Initial index of temp array
  
        let temp = new Array(n);
        while (i >= 0 && j < n) {
            if (arr[i] * arr[i] < arr[j] * arr[j]) {
                temp[ind] = arr[i] * arr[i];
                i--;
            }
            else {
  
                temp[ind] = arr[j] * arr[j];
                j++;
            }
            ind++;
        }
  
        while (i >= 0) {
            temp[ind++] = arr[i] * arr[i];
            i--;
        }
        while (j < n) {
            temp[ind++] = arr[j] * arr[j];
            j++;
        }
  
        // copy 'temp' array into original array
        for (let x = 0; x < n; x++)
            arr[x] = temp[x];
    }
     
    // Driver program to test above function
    let arr=[ -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 ];
    let n = arr.length;
    document.write("Before sort <br>");
    for (let i = 0; i < n; i++)
        document.write(arr[i] + " ");
  
    sortSquares(arr);
    document.write("<br>");
    document.write("After Sort <br>");
    for (let i = 0; i < n; i++)
        document.write(arr[i] + " ");
     
    // This code is contributed by rag2127
 
</script>

Output

Before sort 
-6 -3 -1 2 4 5 
After Sort 
1 4 9 16 25 36

Time complexity: O(n)
space complexity: O(n)

Method 3 –
Another efficient solution is based on the two-pointer method as the array is already sorted we can compare the first and last element to check which is bigger and proceed with the result.

Algorithm –

Initialize left=0 and right=n-1
if abs(left) >= abs(right) then store square(arr[left])
at the end of result array and increment left pointer
else store square(arr[right]) in the result array and decrement right pointer
decrement index of result array

C++

// CPP code for the above approach
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function to sort an square array
void sortSquares(vector<int>& arr, int n)
{
    int left = 0, right = n - 1;
    int result[n];
 
    // Iterate from n - 1 to 0
    for (int index = n - 1; index >= 0; index--) {
       
        // Check if abs(arr[left]) is greater
        // than arr[right]
        if (abs(arr[left]) > arr[right]) {
            result[index] = arr[left] * arr[left];
            left++;
        }
        else {
            result[index] = arr[right] * arr[right];
            right--;
        }
    }
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = result[i];
}
 
// Driver Code
int main()
{
    vector<int> arr;
    arr.push_back(-6);
    arr.push_back(-3);
    arr.push_back(-1);
    arr.push_back(2);
    arr.push_back(4);
    arr.push_back(5);
 
    int n = 6;
 
    cout << "Before sort " << endl;
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
 
    sortSquares(arr, n);
    cout << endl;
    cout << "After Sort " << endl;
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
    return 0;
}
 
// this code is contributed by Manu Pathria

Java

// Java program to Sort square of
// the numbers of the array
import java.util.*;
import java.io.*;
 
class GFG{
     
// Function to sort an square array
public static void sortSquares(int arr[])
{
    int n = arr.length, left = 0,
        right = n - 1;
     
    int result[] = new int[n];
     
    for(int index = n - 1; index >= 0; index--)
    {
        if (Math.abs(arr[left]) > arr[right])
        {
            result[index] = arr[left] * arr[left];
            left++;
        }
        else
        {
            result[index] = arr[right] * arr[right];
            right--;
        }
    }
    for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = result[i];
}
 
// Driver code
public static void main(String[] args)
{
    int arr[] = { -6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 };
    int n = arr.length;
 
    System.out.println("Before sort ");
    for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
 
    sortSquares(arr);
    System.out.println("");
    System.out.println("After Sort ");
    for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)
        System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
}
}
 
// This code is contributed by jinalparmar2382

Python3

# Python3 program to Sort square of the numbers of the array
 
# function to sort array after doing squares of elements
def sortSquares(arr, n):
    left, right = 0, n - 1
    index = n - 1
    result = [0 for x in arr]
 
    while index >= 0:
 
        if abs(arr[left]) >= abs(arr[right]):
            result[index] = arr[left] * arr[left]
            left += 1
        else:
            result[index] = arr[right] * arr[right]
            right -= 1
        index -= 1
     
    for i in range(n):
        arr[i] = result[i]
 
# Driver code
arr = [-6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5 ]
n = len(arr)
 
print("Before sort ")
for i in range(n):
    print(arr[i], end =" " )
     
sortSquares(arr, n)
print("\nAfter Sort ")
for i in range(n):
    print(arr[i], end =" " )

C#

// C# program to Sort square of
// the numbers of the array
using System;
class GFG{
     
// Function to sort an square array
public static void sortSquares(int [] arr)
{
  int n = arr.Length, left = 0,
  right = n - 1;
  int []result = new int[n];
 
  for(int index = n - 1;
          index >= 0; index--)
  {
    if (Math.Abs(arr[left]) >
        arr[right])
    {
      result[index] = arr[left] *
                      arr[left];
      left++;
    }
    else
    {
      result[index] = arr[right] *
                      arr[right];
      right--;
    }
  }
  for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)
    arr[i] = result[i];
}
 
// Driver code
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
  int []arr = {-6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5};
  int n = arr.Length;
  Console.WriteLine("Before sort ");
   
  for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)
    Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");
 
  sortSquares(arr);
  Console.WriteLine("");
  Console.WriteLine("After Sort ");
   
  for(int i = 0; i < n; i++)
    Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");
}
}
 
// This code is contributed by Chitranayal

Javascript

<script>
    // Javascript program to Sort square of
    // the numbers of the array
     
    // Function to sort an square array
    function sortSquares(arr)
    {
      let n = arr.length, left = 0,
      right = n - 1;
      let result = new Array(n);
      result.fill(0);
 
      for(let index = n - 1; index >= 0; index--)
      {
        if (Math.abs(arr[left]) >
            arr[right])
        {
          result[index] = arr[left] *
                          arr[left];
          left++;
        }
        else
        {
          result[index] = arr[right] *
                          arr[right];
          right--;
        }
      }
      for(let i = 0; i < n; i++)
        arr[i] = result[i];
    }
     
    let arr = [-6, -3, -1, 2, 4, 5];
    let n = arr.length;
    document.write("Before sort " + "</br>");
 
    for(let i = 0; i < n; i++)
      document.write(arr[i] + " ");
 
    sortSquares(arr);
    document.write("</br>");
    document.write("After Sort " + "</br>");
 
    for(let i = 0; i < n; i++)
      document.write(arr[i] + " ");
  
 // This code is contributed by rameshtravel07.
</script>

Output

Before sort 
-6 -3 -1 2 4 5 
After Sort 
1 4 9 16 25 36

Time complexity: O(n)
Auxiliary Space: O(n)

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