qn on sorting algorithm efficiency

[unregistered]

can someone rank among all these sorting algorithms from least to most efficient since I found some conflicting statements about which is more efficient and such?
selection sort
insertion sort
bubble sort
shell sort
merge sort
heap sort
quick sort

rank them this way:
Least efficient
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Most efficient
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[jsmith]

I suggest looking them up on wikipedia.

However the question needs a bit of clarification. Are you looking for best case, worst case, or average case?

[unregistered]

all 3, is that why some sources state things differently from others, as in they were referring to different cases?

[helios]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm#List_of_sorting_algorithms

[jsmith]

Yes - for example, the average case for bubble sort is O(n^2) and for quicksort O(log n) which means that in the average case quicksort is faster. But, in the worst case, quicksort has a runtime of O(n^2) which is as bad as bubble sort.

Thanks for posting the link, helios, I was too lazy to go there and post it myself :)

Check out helios' link if you haven't already and if you have specific questions we can help you.