On the Minimal Period of Fast Periodic Sorting Networks

We consider comparator networks M which are usedrepeatedly: while the output produced by M is notsorted, it is fed again into M . Sorting algorithms workingin this way are called periodic. The number of parallelsteps performed during a single run of M is calledits period , the sorting time of M is the total numberof parallel steps that are necessary to sort in the worstcase. Periodic sorting networks have the advantagethat they need little hardware (control logic, wiring,area) and that ...