big-oh-no 1.5.0

A collection of utterly useless yet entertaining sorting algorithms

Big O(No) — Python CLI

CLI-only implementation of intentionally impractical sorting algorithms.

Install

pip install big-oh-no

Usage

big-oh-no --help

# Wait Sort — patience is a virtue
big-oh-no wait 5 2 8 1 3

# Stalin Sort — elements that aren't in order get removed
big-oh-no stalin 5 1 9 2 8 3 10

# Linus Sort — your list gets reviewed, harshly
big-oh-no linus 3 1 7 2 9 5 12

# Bogo Sort — shuffle until it works
big-oh-no bogo 3 2 1
big-oh-no bogo --max-attempts 5000 3 2 1

# Schrödinger Sort — sorted and unsorted until observed
big-oh-no schrodinger 5 3 1 4
big-oh-no schrodinger --meanness 0.8 5 3 1 4

# Urinal Sort — elements pick positions based on personal space
big-oh-no urinal 8 3 6 1 9 2
big-oh-no urinal --awkwardness 1.0 8 3 6 1 9 2

# Digit Sort — sorts by number of digits, not value
big-oh-no digit 170 45 75 90 2 802 66

# Darwin Sort — survival of the fittest permutation
big-oh-no darwin 5 3 1 4 2
big-oh-no darwin --max-generations 200 9 1 8 2 7
big-oh-no darwin --population-size 100 --mutation-rate 0.5 5 3 1 4 2

# Vibe Sort — ask an AI to sort it for you
big-oh-no vibe 5 3 1 4 2
big-oh-no vibe --pro 5 3 1 4 2

Validation

Input is validated at the CLI boundary using Pydantic v2. numbers must be a non-empty list of integers. Invalid input exits with a clear error message — no sorting happens.

---

Development

Setup

cd python
uv sync
uv run big-oh-no --help

Quick run without installing:

uvx --from . big-oh-no --help

If you see a VIRTUAL_ENV ... does not match the project environment path warning, another virtualenv is active in your shell. It is safe to ignore, or run deactivate before uv commands.

Tests

uv run --extra dev pytest -q

Three test modules:

• tests/test_validation.py — Pydantic input validation
• tests/test_algorithms.py — sort function unit tests
• tests/test_cli.py — E2E CLI tests via Click's CliRunner

Adding a new algorithm

• Create big_oh_no/<name>_sort.py with a single public sort function. The first return value must always be the sorted list — after that, return whatever the algorithm's persona demands (eliminated elements, total time, hurt feelings, etc.)
• Add a command in big_oh_no/cli.py using Click, following the pattern of the existing commands
• Add at least one test in tests/test_algorithms.py
• Update the algorithm list in the root README.md
• Add a run example in python/README.md

Making an existing one better

• Richer Rich output, more flavourful commentary, better edge-case handling — all welcome
• Do not change the return contract of the sort function without updating big_oh_no/cli.py and the tests

All tests must pass before opening a PR:

uv run --extra dev pytest -q