A processor of an aspect includes packed data registers, and a decode unit to decode an instruction. The instruction may indicate a first source packed data to include at least four data elements, to indicate a second source packed data to include at least four data elements, and to indicate a destination storage location. An execution unit is coupled with the packed data registers and the decode unit. The execution unit, in response to the instruction, is to store a result packed data in the destination storage location. The result packed data may include at least four indexes that may identify corresponding data element positions in the first and second source packed data. The indexes may be stored in positions in the result packed data that are to represent a sorted order of corresponding data elements in the first and second source packed data.

A processor of an aspect includes packed data registers, and a decode unit to decode an instruction. The instruction may indicate a first source packed data to include at least four data elements, to indicate a second source packed data to include at least four data elements, and to indicate a destination storage location. An execution unit is coupled with the packed data registers and the decode unit. The execution unit, in response to the instruction, is to store a result packed data in the destination storage location. The result packed data may include at least four indexes that may identify corresponding data element positions in the first and second source packed data. The indexes may be stored in positions in the result packed data that are to represent a sorted order of corresponding data elements in the first and second source packed data.

A method includes receiving, by a processing device, an unsorted set of numbers to be sorted, sorting a first subset of the unsorted set of numbers and a second subset of the unsorted set of numbers using a first sorting technique to obtain a first sorted subset and a second sorted subset of numbers, and merging and sorting the first sorted subset and the second sorted subset of numbers using a second sorting technique to obtain a first sorted set of numbers.

A method for decreasing a number of individual entries in a database of user-created records which describe a single item by: receiving a plurality of user-created records, each of said records comprising at least a descriptive string; placing individual ones of the plurality of user-created records having a sufficiently similar descriptive string into one of a plurality of first groups; hashing the descriptive string of each of the plurality of first groups in order to place two or more groups into a single bin; performing a pair-wise comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in each bin; and when the comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in a bin results in a distance below a first threshold, merging the two or more groups into a combined group.

A method for decreasing a number of individual entries in a database of user-created records which describe a single item by: receiving a plurality of user-created records, each of said records comprising at least a descriptive string; placing individual ones of the plurality of user-created records having a sufficiently similar descriptive string into one of a plurality of first groups; hashing the descriptive string of each of the plurality of first groups in order to place two or more groups into a single bin; performing a pair-wise comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in each bin; and when the comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in a bin results in a distance below a first threshold, merging the two or more groups into a combined group.

A method for decreasing a number of individual entries in a database of user-created records which describe a single item by: receiving a plurality of user-created records, each of said records comprising at least a descriptive string; placing individual ones of the plurality of user-created records having a sufficiently similar descriptive string into one of a plurality of first groups; hashing the descriptive string of each of the plurality of first groups in order to place two or more groups into a single bin; performing a pair-wise comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in each bin; and when the comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in a bin results in a distance below a first threshold, merging the two or more groups into a combined group.

A method for decreasing a number of individual entries in a database of user-created records which describe a single item by: receiving a plurality of user-created records, each of said records comprising at least a descriptive string; placing individual ones of the plurality of user-created records having a sufficiently similar descriptive string into one of a plurality of first groups; hashing the descriptive string of each of the plurality of first groups in order to place two or more groups into a single bin; performing a pair-wise comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in each bin; and when the comparison of the descriptive strings of the two or more groups in a bin results in a distance below a first threshold, merging the two or more groups into a combined group.

A database management system is described that can encode data to generate a plurality of data vectors. The database management system can perform the encoding by using a dictionary. The database management system can adaptively reorder the plurality of data vectors to prepare for compression of the plurality of data vectors. During a forward pass of the adaptive reordering, most frequent values of a data vector of the plurality of data vectors can be moved-up in the data vector. During a backward pass of the adaptive reordering, content within a rest range of a plurality of rest ranges can be rearranged within the plurality of data vectors according to frequencies of the content. The reordering according to frequency can further sort the rest range by value. Related apparatuses, systems, methods, techniques, computer programmable products, computer readable media, and articles are also described.

A database management system is described that can encode data to generate a plurality of data vectors. The database management system can perform the encoding by using a dictionary. The database management system can adaptively reorder the plurality of data vectors to prepare for compression of the plurality of data vectors. During a forward pass of the adaptive reordering, most frequent values of a data vector of the plurality of data vectors can be moved-up in the data vector. During a backward pass of the adaptive reordering, content within a rest range of a plurality of rest ranges can be rearranged within the plurality of data vectors according to frequencies of the content. The reordering according to frequency can further sort the rest range by value. Related apparatuses, systems, methods, techniques, computer programmable products, computer readable media, and articles are also described.

Disclosed are an information output method and apparatus. One specific implementation of the method comprises: acquiring order data to be sorted; determining whether items to be sorted matching the order data to be sorted are stored in a shelf set; in response to having determined that items to be sorted matching the order data to be sorted are stored in the shelf set, determining, from the shelf set, a shelf storing an item to be sorted, and adding same to a candidate shelf set; choosing a candidate shelf from the candidate shelf set and adding same to a target shelf set, where the target shelf set stores the items to be sorted matching the order data; and outputting an identifier of a target shelf in the target shelf set.