Q. Example on Sorting using Combinational Circuit?

Example: Think about a unsorted list having element values like given below

{3,9,8,5,10,12,14,20,90,95,60,40,23,35,18,0}

This list has to be sorted in ascending order. To sort this list in the first phase comparators of order 2 (It implies that having 2 inputs and 2 outputs) will be employed. In the same way 2nd phase will comprise 4 input comparators, 3rd phase 8 input comparator and 4th stage a 16 input comparator.

Let's take an illustration with help of a figure to explain the idea of sorting using the comparators (see Figure).

Figure: Sorting using Combinational Circuit