Or so it might seem, especially after skimming through 500 pages of different types of sorting algorithms. It’s immensely frustrating to purchase a mint copy of CLRS, only to use it as a hood ornament for your table.
Did you know that sorting forms the basis of every data management system that you’ve ever seen or used? Databases, your favorite key value store, graph databases, and even search indexes.
The principle is simple. If things are sorted, then it’s easy to find something within it. There are data structures that make mutating a sorted list efficient.
Are algorithms worth learning? Search GitHub for any algorithm and see if the matching projects are interesting. My answer is, they are.