Find a median element without fully sorting.
C++: nth_element partitions around the element that would occupy the chosen sorted position.
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <string_view>
#include <vector>
#include <array>
#include <algorithm>
#include <numeric>
#include <map>
#include <unordered_map>
#include <set>
#include <queue>
#include <stack>
#include <deque>
#include <tuple>
#include <bitset>
#include <memory>
#include <optional>
#include <variant>
#include <functional>
#include <charconv>
#include <regex>
#include <fstream>
#include <sstream>
#include <filesystem>
#include <iomanip>
#include <cmath>
#include <cctype>
#include <limits>
#include <chrono>
#include <thread>
#include <future>
#include <mutex>
#include <atomic>
#include <condition_variable>
int main() {
std::cout << std::boolalpha;
std::vector<int> values{5,1,4,2,3};
auto middle=values.begin()+values.size()/2;
std::nth_element(values.begin(),middle,values.end());
std::cout << *middle << "\n";
}
Expected output EXAMPLE
3
Details
Save as snippet.cpp; compile with g++ -std=c++17 -Wall -Wextra snippet.cpp -pthread -o snippet, then run ./snippet. nth_element partitions around the element that would occupy the chosen sorted position.
This odd-sized example has one middle value; even-sized medians need a separate policy.
Tested on Ubuntu 24.04.5 LTS · · g++ (Ubuntu 13.3.0-6ubuntu2~24.04.1) 13.3.0 · g++ 4:13.2.0-7ubuntu1
Test inputs, results and environment
The exact published code ran in a dedicated Linux test container with prepared inputs. Unprivileged snippet process, external networking disabled, read-only root filesystem, and a fresh temporary working directory. Fixtures and output records are isolated from the application database. Testing covers this example and its stated checks, not every input, operating system, or runtime version. The Linux container shares its host's kernel; this is not a native Windows test.
- Architecture / host kernel
- x86_64 / 6.18.54.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2
- Snippet identity / locale
- uid=65534, gid=65534 (unprivileged) / C.UTF-8
- Interpreter invocation
g++ -std=c++17 -Wall -Wextra -Werror snippet.cpp -pthread -lm -o snippet && ./snippet- Container image ID
sha256:32dc2d998158b6554c99b73b533f423696a0f3e31e8cbea9db10b5eee9a2fadd- Code SHA-256
1d45fbd474002ba9c59940d277fb2ca7acb582383765a761638540978c22e445- Dependencies
- g++ 4:13.2.0-7ubuntu1
Test input setup
These are the prepared inputs used by the test harness. See Details above for the prerequisites and how to run this example.
# No input files required.
Observed standard output
3
Exit code: 0. Standard error: empty. Validation: Exact stdout comparison. System-dependent values above are one recorded run.