Systolic Merge Sorter

Large-scale and complex data management has always been a significant challenge in computing and information technology disciplines because of the unprecedented growth of digital data. In particular, sorting data in an efficient,  accurate manner is vital for various computing activities, from database management to scientific data processing. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for technology that can effectively sort massive sets of data. The traditional sorting algorithms currently in use have their limitations. A common problem is their inability to effectively handle large-scale datasets because of memory restrictions or the time required for sorting. Such constraints significantly undermine the potential for sorting algorithms' use in practical applications. Thus, the current approach of using standard sorting methods struggles to provide satisfactory performance when dealing with a vast amount of data.

Technology Description

The technology is a sorter system comprising a clock, a systolic array circuit, and control circuitry. The clock generates a series of uninterrupted signals. The systolic array circuit includes a minimum of one processing module and K-1 registers, where K is an integer greater than two. Each processing module possesses at least one of the registers, with each data item stored in one register. The control circuitry is in communication with a serial access memory, which stores data items to be sorted. It supplies data items to, and receives them from, the systolic array system as input and output respectively. What sets this technology apart is its ability to present K data items for input to the systolic array circuit in synchronization with the clock signals. This ability means that on the next clock cycle after the control circuitry presents the last of the K data items, the least valuable data item in the given subsequence is automatically output, exceptionally improving the sorting efficiency of data processing systems.