1.0030 Describe the differences between internal and external sorting methods? When should each be used?

Internal Sorts:

• How? List elements are manipulated in RAM
• Why? Faster
• Problem? Limited by amount of RAM (List size)

External Sorts:

• How? List elements are manipulated by storing the elements to secondary storage
• Why? The List is too large to be stored in RAM
• Problem? Much Slower

The answer to when each should be used is determined by whether or not the list can be stored in RAM.