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Sort given array to descending-lowest-ascending form

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025
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Given an array arr[] of size N and an integer K, the task is to sort the array such that the first K elements of the array are in descending order and the last N - K elements of the array are in ascending order.

Examples:

Input: arr[]= {7, 6, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2, 2, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7}, K = 6 
Output: 9 9 8 8 7 7 0 1 1 2 2 6 6 
Explanation: 
The first K (= 6) elements of the sorted array are {9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7}, which are in descending order. 
The last N - K (= 6) elements of the sorted array are {0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 6, 6}, which are in ascending order. 
Therefore, the required output is 9 9 8 8 7 7 0 1 1 2 2 6 6

Input: arr[]= {65, 34, 54, 56, 75, 34, 54, 65, 56, 75, 15}, K = 5 
Output: 75 75 65 65 56 56 15 34 34 54 54

Approach: Follow the steps below to solve the problem:

Below is the implementation of the above approach:

C++ 
// C++ program to implement
// the above approach

#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

// Function to sort first K array elements in
// descending and last N - K in ascending order
void sortArrayInDescAsc(int arr[], int N, int K)
{
    // Sort the array in descending order
    sort(arr, arr + N, greater<int>());

    // Sort last (N - K) array
    // elements in ascending order
    sort(arr + K, arr + N);

    // Print array elements
    for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
        cout << arr[i] << " ";
    }
}

// Driver Code
int main()
{
    int arr[] = { 7, 6, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2,
                  2, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7 };
    int N = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
    int K = 6;
    sortArrayInDescAsc(arr, N, K);
}
Java 
// Java program to implement
// the above approach
import java.util.*;

class GFG{

// Function to sort first K array elements in
// descending and last N - K in ascending order
static void sortArrayInDescAsc(int arr[], int N, 
                               int K)
{
    
    // Sort the array in descending order
    Arrays.sort(arr);

    for(int i = 0, j = N - 1; i < N / 2; i++) 
    {
        int temp = arr[i];
        arr[i] = arr[j];
        arr[j] = temp;
        j--;
    }

    // Sort last (N - K) array
    // elements in ascending order
    Arrays.sort(arr, K, N);

    // Print array elements
    for(int i = 0; i < N; i++) 
    {
        System.out.print(arr[i] + " ");
    }
}

// Driver Code
public static void main(String[] args)
{
    int arr[] = { 7, 6, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2,
                  2, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7 };
    int N = arr.length;
    int K = 6;
    
    sortArrayInDescAsc(arr, N, K);
}
}

// This code is contributed by Amit Katiyar
Python3 
# Python3 program to implement
# the above approach

# Function to sort first K array 
# elements in descending and last 
# N - K in ascending order
def sortArrayInDescAsc(arr, N, K):
    
    # Sort the array in descending order
    arr = sorted(arr)
    arr = arr[::-1]

    # Sort last (N - K) array
    # elements in ascending order
    for i in arr[:K]:
        print(i, end = " ")
    for i in reversed(arr[K:]):
        print(i, end = " ")

# Driver Code
if __name__ == '__main__':
    
    arr = [ 7, 6, 8, 9, 0, 1, 
            2, 2, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7 ]
    N = len(arr)
    K = 6
    
    sortArrayInDescAsc(arr, N, K)

# This code is contributed by mohit kumar 29
C# 
// C# program to implement
// the above approach  
using System;

class GFG{
     
// Function to sort first K array elements in
// descending and last N - K in ascending order
static void sortArrayInDescAsc(int[] arr, int N, 
                               int K)
{
    
    // Sort the array in descending order
    Array.Sort(arr); 
    Array.Reverse(arr);
 
    // Sort last (N - K) array
    // elements in ascending order
    int temp = 0;
    
    for(int i = K; i < N; i++) 
    { 
        for(int j = i + 1; j < N; j++)
        {     
            if (arr[i] > arr[j]) 
            {
                temp = arr[i];    
                arr[i] = arr[j];    
                arr[j] = temp;    
            }     
        }     
    } 
 
    // Print array elements
    for(int i = 0; i < N; i++)
    {
        Console.Write(arr[i] + " ");
    }
}
 
// Driver code
public static void Main()
{
    int[] arr = { 7, 6, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2,
                  2, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7 };
    int N = arr.Length;
    int K = 6;
    
    sortArrayInDescAsc(arr, N, K);
}
}

// This code is contributed by sanjoy_62
JavaScript 
<script>
 
// Javascript program to implement
// the above approach

// Function to sort first K array elements in
// descending and last N - K in ascending order
function sortArrayInDescAsc(arr, N, K)
{
    // Sort the array in descending order
    arr.sort((b,a)=> a-b)

    var temp = 0;
    
    for(var i = K; i < N; i++) 
    { 
        for(var j = i + 1; j < N; j++)
        {     
            if (arr[i] > arr[j]) 
            {
                temp = arr[i];    
                arr[i] = arr[j];    
                arr[j] = temp;    
            }     
        }     
    } 

    // Print array elements
    arr.forEach(element => {
        document.write(element+" ");
    });
}

// Driver Code
var arr = [7, 6, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2,
              2, 1, 8, 9, 6, 7 ];
var N = arr.length;
var K = 6;
sortArrayInDescAsc(arr, N, K);

//This code is contributed by rrrtnx.
</script>

Output: 
9 9 8 8 7 7 0 1 1 2 2 6 6

 

Time Complexity: O(N * log(N))
Auxiliary Space: O(1)


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