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fix: handle empty input in tim_sort#14805

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pony-maggie wants to merge 1 commit into
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pony-maggie:tim-sort-empty-input-v2
Open

fix: handle empty input in tim_sort#14805
pony-maggie wants to merge 1 commit into
TheAlgorithms:masterfrom
pony-maggie:tim-sort-empty-input-v2

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Describe your change:

Fixed tim_sort([]) so it returns an empty list instead of raising IndexError when the implementation tries to read lst[0].

Why

Sorting an empty sequence should be a valid no-op. Other sort implementations in this repository handle empty input, and Python's sorted([]) returns [].

How tested

  • RED: /opt/homebrew/opt/python@3.14/bin/python3.14 -m doctest -v sorts/tim_sort.py failed with IndexError: list index out of range before the fix
  • /opt/homebrew/opt/python@3.14/bin/python3.14 -m doctest -v sorts/tim_sort.py
  • /tmp/thealgorithms-py314-pytest/bin/python -m pytest --doctest-modules sorts/tim_sort.py -q
  • Randomized comparison of tim_sort(case) against sorted(case) for 100 generated lists
  • git diff --check
  • Add an algorithm?
  • Fix a bug or typo in an existing algorithm?
  • Add or change doctests? -- Note: Please avoid changing both code and tests in a single pull request.
  • Documentation change?

Checklist:

  • I have read CONTRIBUTING.md.
  • This pull request is all my own work -- I have not plagiarized.
  • I know that pull requests will not be merged if they fail the automated tests.
  • This PR only changes one algorithm file. To ease review, please open separate PRs for separate algorithms.
  • All new Python files are placed inside an existing directory.
  • All filenames are in all lowercase characters with no spaces or dashes.
  • All functions and variable names follow Python naming conventions.
  • All function parameters and return values are annotated with Python type hints.
  • All functions have doctests that pass the automated testing.
  • All new algorithms include at least one URL that points to Wikipedia or another similar explanation.
  • If this pull request resolves one or more open issues then the description above includes the issue number(s) with a closing keyword: "Fixes #ISSUE-NUMBER".

@algorithms-keeper algorithms-keeper Bot added enhancement This PR modified some existing files awaiting reviews This PR is ready to be reviewed labels Jun 15, 2026
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