Sorting Algorithms Visualizer - PyQt Desktop Application

A beautiful desktop application built with PyQt for visualizing sorting algorithms step-by-step with interactive controls.

🖥️ Desktop Application Features

• 🎯 5 Sorting Algorithms:

  • Bubble Sort
  • Quick Sort
  • Merge Sort
  • Insertion Sort
  • Selection Sort

• 🎮 Interactive Desktop Controls:

  • ▶️ Play/Pause - Watch the animation or pause it
  • ➡️ Step Forward - Move to next step
  • ⬅️ Step Back - Move to previous step
  • ⏮️ Reset - Start over
  • ⏭️ Go to End - Jump to final result
  • 🎚️ Speed Control - Adjust animation speed with slider
  • 📏 Array Size - Change the number of elements to sort
  • 🎲 Generate New Array - Create random arrays to sort

• 📊 Rich Visual Feedback:

  • Blue bars: Unsorted elements
  • Orange bars: Elements being compared
  • Red bars: Elements being swapped/moved
  • Green bars: Elements in their final sorted position
  • Real-time statistics: Comparisons, Swaps, Current Step
  • Algorithm complexity information
  • Progress tracking

• 🎨 Modern PyQt Interface:

  • Native desktop application
  • Responsive bar chart visualization
  • Control panel with buttons and sliders
  • Color-coded legend
  • Algorithm selection dropdown
  • Real-time performance metrics

Requirements

• Python 3.7 or higher
• PyQt6 or PySide6
• numpy

Installation

1. Clone or download this project

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

Run the PyQt desktop application:

python3 pyqt_visual.py

How to Use:

1. Select an algorithm from the dropdown menu at the top
2. Adjust array size using the "Array Size" slider
3. Click "Generate New Array" to create a new random array
4. Control the visualization:
   • Click "Play" to start the animation (button changes to "Pause")
   • Click "Pause" to stop the animation
   • Click "Step Forward" to advance one step at a time
   • Click "Step Back" to review previous steps
   • Click "Reset" to start over
   • Click "Go to End" to see the final sorted array
5. Adjust speed using the "Speed" slider
6. View statistics - Comparisons, swaps, and current step are displayed in real-time

Project Structure

sorting-visualizer/
├── pyqt_visual.py         # PyQt desktop application (MAIN)
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
├── README.md             # This file
├── algorithms/           # Sorting algorithm implementations
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── bubble_sort.py
│   ├── quick_sort.py
│   ├── merge_sort.py
│   ├── insertion_sort.py
│   └── selection_sort.py
└── tests/                # Unit tests for algorithms
    ├── test_bubble_sort.py
    ├── test_insertion_sort.py
    ├── test_merge_sort.py
    ├── test_quick_sort.py
    └── test_selection_sort.py

Algorithm Complexity

Algorithm	Time (Best)	Time (Average)	Time (Worst)	Space
Bubble Sort	O(n)	O(n²)	O(n²)	O(1)
Insertion Sort	O(n)	O(n²)	O(n²)	O(1)
Selection Sort	O(n²)	O(n²)	O(n²)	O(1)
Merge Sort	O(n log n)	O(n log n)	O(n log n)	O(n)
Quick Sort	O(n log n)	O(n log n)	O(n²)	O(log n)

Customization

• Change color scheme: Edit the color constants in pyqt_visual.py
• Add new algorithms: Create a new file in algorithms/ following the generator pattern
• Modify UI layout: Update the PyQt widget layout in pyqt_visual.py
• Adjust visualization: Modify the bar chart drawing logic

Testing

Run unit tests to verify algorithm correctness:

python3 -m pytest tests/

Or run tests individually:

python3 -m pytest tests/test_quick_sort.py -v

Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10-eOmClBH2gLHRrKiFRDyx_jP0pQijCA/view?usp=drive_link