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Thread: TimSort not working for particular data set

  1. #1
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    Default TimSort not working for particular data set

    In the attached file, I have a dataset and Java code. When I use the code marked as "Not working" it fails. I have been using this code for quite a while with no problem. It is only on this particular data set (so far) that it fails. The failure is:

    Exception in thread "main" java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Comparison method violates its general contract!
    	at java.util.TimSort.mergeLo(TimSort.java:777)
    	at java.util.TimSort.mergeAt(TimSort.java:514)
    	at java.util.TimSort.mergeCollapse(TimSort.java:441)
    	at java.util.TimSort.sort(TimSort.java:245)

    Using jdk1.8.0_121, Eclipse development environment

    I have tested for
    a.compareTo(b) == -(b.compareTo(a))
    and I find no failures.

    Sorting the data with a TreeSet works. TimSort does not work. (Again, for this particular dataset)
    The code (as written) is dependent on ArciMath, see code for url
    Attached Files Attached Files

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    Default Re: TimSort not working for particular data set

    I can safely say that whenever it appears to work using TreeSet, you're actually getting lucky (or rather, unlucky). Java sort methods make no guarantees that they will detect every violation of the Comparable contract, but they do so on a best-effort basis to try and help. I trust that you've thoroughly tested all combinations of 'a' and 'b' in your reverse compareTo evaluations, but did you check for the same thing by calling compareToXY instead of compareTo? I have a strong suspicion that compareToXY is not playing by the rules.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: TimSort not working for particular data set

    Sorry for the confusion. That is a good suspicion. I had it too. I really did not check compareTo(). I tested compareToXY() .

    In the code
     public static Comparator<Point> xyPointComparator = new Comparator<Point>() {
     
        @Override
        public int compare(Point p1, Point p2)
        {
            int cmp = p1.compareToXY(p2);
            return cmp;
        }

    There were some lines I removed. It used to look like this:
     public static Comparator<Point> xyPointComparator = new Comparator<Point>() {
     
        @Override
        public int compare(Point p1, Point p2)
        {
            int cmp = p1.compareToXY(p2);
            int cmp2 = p2.compareToXY(p1);
            if (cmp != -cmp2)
            {
                System.err.println("xyPointComparator comparable violates contract for p1  " + p1 + "  p2 " + p2);
            }
            return cmp;
        }

    This produced no errors for the data set for either TreeSet or TimSort.
    Last edited by Keith Willenson; September 13th, 2017 at 12:25 PM.

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